Former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley is pitching a Group of Five playoff that would be financially backed by private equity, sources tell CBS Sports.
The concept would address — if not be motivated by — disappointment felt by the Group of Five conferences (MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, American and Conference USA) over revenue distribution shares under the new College Football Playoff media rights agreement. The average program in those conferences will receive $1.8 million per year in CFP revenue beginning in 2026 under the new deal, up from the current $1.5 million payout.
The Group of Five splits 9% of the annual $1.3 billion deal with ESPN. While the payout marks an increase in raw numbers, it is a percentage decrease considering the Group of Five received 22% of the pot in the prior deal (2014-23).
By comparison, the Big Ten and SEC will each receive 29% of CFP money — millions more than any Group of Five league is paid in media revenue alone during a given year.
“You’ve got presidents and chancellors [from the Group of Five] now saying, ‘Why would [we sit] around waiting for the inevitable, which is a total break [by the SEC and Big Ten]?'” one Group of Five administrator familiar with Dooley’s proposal told CBS Sports. “We better start doing some things.”
Dooley did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
Some believe a Big Ten and SEC breakaway has already occurred given the incoming revenue both conferences are set to receive. The Big Ten and SEC demanded a larger share of the CFP pie, in part, because of their playoff success over the last 10 years.
The leagues have combined to earn 29 of 40 available CFP bids (based on league membership beginning July 2024) and 113 of 184 BCS/CFP slots (62%) since…
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