CHICAGO — Dan Lanning has been consistent when asked how college football should address a calendar that increasingly forces coaches to manage the postseason, transfer portal, recruiting and staff changes simultaneously.
Move everything forward.
“Move it up. Move it up,” Lanning said following Oregon’s spring game in April. “I don’t think the portal should exist at the same time that football’s being played.”
Lanning’s preferred solution would have college football begin its season earlier, play postseason games on consecutive weekends and crown a national champion around Jan. 1. The transfer portal and coaching carousel could then take center stage after the season ends instead of operating alongside the College Football Playoff.
Lanning initially outlined that vision before Oregon’s Orange Bowl appearance last season. He said the sport could begin in Week Zero, potentially eliminate an open week and play each round of the playoff on consecutive Saturdays. He also argued that Saturdays in December should remain college football’s territory rather than being surrendered to the NFL.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti did not fully endorse Lanning’s proposed solution Tuesday during his opening press conference at Big Ten Media Days, but he strongly supported the Oregon coach’s assessment of the problem.
Asked how the calendar could function if the College Football Playoff eventually expands to 24 teams, Petitti acknowledged that coaches are being placed in an almost impossible position.
“It’s really difficult to recruit and build your roster in the middle of the postseason,” Petitti said. “There’s no comparison of anybody else being asked to do that.”
Petitti specifically referenced Lanning and other Big Ten coaches whose programs have made deep postseason runs.
“When Dan is up here, and Ryan and Kirk, schools that have gone deep, when you ask them, they’ll tell you that because they’re focused on multiple things,” Petitti said.
That divided focus can extend beyond player recruitment and retention. Coaches and assistants are pursued for new jobs while their teams are preparing for the most important games of the season. Programs must simultaneously prepare for playoff opponents, communicate with their current rosters and recruit players who could join them the following season.
“It gets to be really difficult,” Petitti said. “It is not the ideal system.”
Petitti said the Big Ten previously supported moving transfer activity toward the spring, although there was not unanimous support within the conference. The league also failed to convince its counterparts nationally to adopt that approach.
“We did not carry the day with our colleagues on that discussion, so this is where it is,” Petitti said. “But it is difficult.”
Where Petitti differed from Lanning was in the simplicity of the solution.
Lanning called moving the season forward an “easy fix” during the spring. Petitti said Tuesday that he has not heard a proposal that solves every issue created by the academic calendar, playoff schedule, transfer portal and coaching carousel.
“I haven’t heard a good idea to fix it, to be honest,” Petitti said. “Starting earlier? I’m not sure how much earlier we can start.”
Petitti also noted the differences between institutions operating on quarter systems and those using semesters. That is particularly relevant for Oregon, where the academic calendar does not align perfectly with many of its Big Ten counterparts.
The disagreement, however, is primarily about the solution rather than the problem.
Lanning believes college football can alleviate several of its largest calendar conflicts by beginning earlier and ending near Jan. 1. Petitti believes the sport must account for additional complications before making that change.
Both agree the current structure is asking coaches and players to handle too much while championships are still being decided.
With playoff expansion remaining under discussion, that pressure may only increase. Lanning has offered his preferred answer. Petitti’s comments showed the Big Ten recognizes the question can no longer be ignored.
