Drinkwitz questions conferences after CFP expansion

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz questioned Tuesday whether conference membership still makes sense after the Power 4 leagues announced they will eliminate championship games in the 24-team College Football Playoff era.

The expanded playoff will begin at the end of the 2027 season. The SEC said Monday that its 35th championship game, scheduled for Dec. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, will be its last. The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 made similar announcements.

Drinkwitz asked whether conferences would become little more than scheduling affiliations without championship games. He also questioned the need for schools to travel across the country for conference matchups if postseason access is the main objective.

The coach agreed there is little reason to continue playing title games under the new format, but he called their loss disappointing. When he took over Missouri in 2020, winning the SEC championship game was one of the goals he set for the program.

Missouri reached the SEC title game twice before Drinkwitz arrived. The Tigers lost 59-42 to Auburn in 2013 and 42-13 to Alabama the following season.

Starting next season, the SEC and the other Power 4 conferences will award their championships through seasonlong standings. The former championship-game weekend will instead give CFP teams a week to rest, while Army-Navy receives a standalone window.

Drinkwitz also raised broader concerns about the pace of change across college football, pointing to the playoff, NIL, conference realignment and the transfer portal. He argued that bowl games, roster continuity and regional rivalries have lost significance. Have decision-makers given enough consideration to fans? Drinkwitz questioned that, too.

Why it matters

Missouri will lose the Atlanta championship-game opportunity that Drinkwitz identified as a program goal when he arrived in 2020. Future SEC titles will be decided by seasonlong standings rather than a head-to-head championship game.

What to watch next

The SEC’s 35th and final championship game is scheduled for Dec. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The 24-team CFP begins at the end of the 2027 season.