Chris Fowler Addresses Whether ESPN Controls College Football Playoff Field
ESPN broadcaster addresses theories and speculation about network pulling strings for bigger brand teams
How much influence does ESPN have over the College Football Playoff field?
It sounds ridiculous. What would a television network have to do with which teams are included in the 12-team playoff field? Well, for some fans, it's not so hard to believe that ESPN would be asserting influence over the committee and its selection process.
The sports network is heavily associated with the SEC, through its partnership in the SEC Network. In addition, ESPN and ABC has taken over broadcasting rights for many SEC games in the 2025 regular season. Since ESPN also has the rights to broadcast most of the playoff games, there's further motivation for the network to, shall we say, put its thumb on the scale toward the bigger brand names.
The Texas Longhorns, for example, bring enormous ratings and fan interest. Ohio State had several highly rated playoff games, the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks, and its semifinal against the aforementioned Longhorns. ESPN also carries the weekly College Football Playoff poll reveal show, making the network by far the most influential partner for the committee. There are incentives for drama, for big brands, and for higher ratings.
One of the network's most prominent college football personalities, Chris Fowler, addressed that speculation this week.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - ESPN's Chris Fowler, left, speaks with Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman prior to a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on Aug. 31, 2024. Photo: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Fowler Denies ESPN Influences Playoff Field
Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show this week, Fowler denied that ESPN has any part in "pulling the strings" regarding who gets included in the playoff field.
"If you asked your viewers, they’d say it’s everything," he said. "I mean, they think that ESPN’s pulling the strings. ‘We want the biggest brands.’ I promise you, we play no part in that."
Fowler also brought up that SMU made the 12-team field in the 2024-2025 edition, as well as TCU being included in a four-team playoff several years ago.
"You’re never going to dissuade the conspiracy theorists because they’re everywhere," he added.
One of the biggest points of debate in the most recent poll was whether Alabama should have jumped Notre Dame after an unimpressive performance against the Auburn Tigers. Fowler's answer was as unsatisfactory as committee chair Hunter Yurachek's explanation during the poll release show.
"I think they jumped up because the question of excluding a team that makes the SEC Championship Game and then loses after beating Georgia on the road in the regular season is pretty tricky, right?" Fowler argued. "That would be the first three-loss team to get in. Alabama wouldn’t get in because it’s a big brand, in my opinion."
It's unrealistic to expect that ESPN's wishes would influence the field; after all, committee members have changed, and will continue to change, moving forward. And those committee members may have varying loyalties that would supersede keeping ESPN happy. But where his argument falls a bit flat is that Alabama is certainly given the benefit of the doubt because of its brand name.
Whether the Tide make the SEC Championship Game should have no relevance to where they're ranked. Yes, they made it, that's great. They also were thoroughly outplayed by a mediocre Auburn team, after losing to a bad Florida State team early on. They beat Georgia. Sure. But it's very unlikely though, that, say, Vanderbilt or an ACC team would be given the same benefit of the doubt after an ugly performance against Auburn.
ESPN might not decide the field, but they sure aren't complaining about Alabama being included. They've also happily joined in the campaigning for a 9-3 Texas team to make the playoff. Of course, they'd prefer to have bigger brand names involved. Of course, they have personalities who spend hours each week extolling the virtues and superiority of one particular conference. It'd be refreshing if they just admitted their bias instead of acting surprised each time someone points it out.