ASU AD Graham Rossini embraces 24-team College Football Playoff shift

As college football prepares to transition into a sprawling 24-team playoff format, a move that will spell the end of conference championship games like the Big 12’s finale, Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini views the seismic shift as a net positive for the Sun Devils and the broader national landscape.

Speaking on Arizona Sports‘ Burns & Gambo Thursday, Rossini addressed the official shift toward an expanded postseason, emphasizing that more pathways mean greater opportunity for programs to capture lightning in a bottle.

“We were certainly the benefactor of an expanded playoff the first year that went to 12 (teams), and we saw what that did for our program and our fan base and our community,” Rossini said. “There is some merit to expanding the opportunity to compete for championships and bringing more student-athletes, more coaching staff, more fan bases, more universities into those moments where it’s the hot team wins.”

Under the newly announced 24-team model, a conference like the Big 12 could have put as many as five teams into the field a season ago.

Rossini noted that getting hot at the right time during the final month of the year, cracking the top 24 and innovating preparation for a championship bracket changes the calculus for athletic departments nationwide.

Reconnecting with the West Coast

Beyond the playoff structure, ASU continues to evaluate its footprint in a shifting collegiate athletics ecosystem. While the Sun Devils have heavily embraced the recruiting and visibility benefits of playing games in Texas since joining the Big 12, Rossini said conversations remain active regarding renewing historic ties with Pac-12 legacy schools, including programs in California.

“There’s been a lot of interest in it,” Rossini said. “These are 40-year relationships across the universities, certainly through the fan bases and just a lot of moments that you’ve gotten used to looking forward to.”

Balancing the new geographic reality with traditional California recruiting pipelines remains a priority for maintaining national relevance.

“The same can apply to games in California,” Rossini said. “We have a massive presence at a university level. There’s so much athletic talent throughout that state that the more that we have games in and around those marketplaces, the more relevant we get.”

Navigating the regular season evolution

With the postseason expanding drastically, questions naturally linger over whether the regular season risks losing its luster. Rossini admitted it is still too early to tell how the sport will adapt, noting that the value will ultimately hinge on how non-conference slates and early-season matchups evolve.

However, Rossini stressed that having definitive structure from leadership allows athletic departments to finally transition from speculation to strategic planning.

“Now we know what the landscape is,” Rossini said. “And at this moment in time in college athletics, I feel like having some structure or decisions made that allow us to be planful was really important.

“Now we understand that this is happening, this is happening soon, and there’s adjustments and strategy that needs to be made as we understand what this environment is going to look like.”

Related

Gabriel Moreno makes 1st Team All-MLB, finishes top 10 for NL MVPDiamondbacks not close on any trades, but young players are generating interestBickley: Carson Beck is ready to shoot his shot against the RamsBrennan: Big Noon Kickoff will showcase Arizona’s talent on national stageWin tickets to the ASU homecoming gameFiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic returns for 2nd year