Group of 5 officials split on idea of separate playoff

The second Monday in January will likely provide the most-watched college football game of the year, and certain Group of 5 officials are starting to think they want their own piece of the playoff pie.

Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier spoke to Brett McMurphy of ESPN on Thursday and confirmed that some Group of 5 officials are in favor of implementing a separate playoff strictly for their programs.

"There is absolutely no ability for us (teams in the Group of 5) to be in that national title conversation," Frazier explained. "That's just reality. Anyone that says we can: that's a flat-out lie."

The Group of 5 consists of Conference USA, American Athletic, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt conferences, along with three current independent programs in BYU, Army, and UMass.

The last Group of 5 team to win a national championship came all the way back in 1984, when BYU defeated Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. That drought has clearly fueled the idea of creating a separate playoff. An industry source also confirmed to ESPN that there would be network interest from the likes of NBC, CBS, and ESPN in televising a hypothetical Group of 5 playoff.

One man who wants no part, however, is AAC commissioner Mike Aresco.

"The answer is an emphatic no," Aresco said. "We compete for national championships like anyone else in FBS, including the Power 5, and have no interest in any kind of separate championship."

Multiple other Group of 5 athletic directors have also expressed their disdain regarding the idea of a separate playoff.

"Absolutely would not want a separate playoff," one athletic director said, "and I can't put enough exclamation points behind that."

"You mean compete for a junior varsity championship," another athletic director said. "No thanks."

While Frazier's desire to have the Group of 5 recognized on a more national scale is ambitious, it may be a long shot for that kind of change to be implemented within college football's existing format.