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Report: CFP board ponders breaking football away from NCAA governance

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The College Football Playoff's board of managers discussed potentially moving major college football away from NCAA governance during a Zoom call Monday, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

The CFP running college football was also reportedly brought up on the call.

However, the discussions between the CFP's board of managers, which consists of 11 presidents and chancellors from the NCAA conferences and Notre Dame, were brief and intended to be a possibility to weigh in the future, Thamel adds.

An exit from the NCAA would represent the biggest shakeup in the constantly changing world of college athletics. USC and UCLA's stunning announcement that they will depart from the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024 has reignited talk of conference realignment or megaconferences.

The possibility of the CFP's next format being created before the current contract - which expires after 2025 - runs out was also broached on the call, Thamel reports. The board reportedly felt that a significant amount of money has been lost due to a delay in implementing a new structure.

The CFP has featured a four-team format since its debut in 2014. Proposals were submitted to expand to a 12-team format before CFP executive director Bill Hancock announced earlier this year that the model will continue to include only four teams until the end of 2025. Momentum for a 16-team format has also been growing, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said last month.

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