The format for the College Football Playoff beyond 2025 remains a subject of debate, but Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill made his feelings plain on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at Sun Belt Media Days in New Orleans, Gill acknowledged that getting from four teams to 12 in the CFP last year was a “heavy lift.” However, he doesn’t think expansion should stop there.

“That’s been great, great for the Sun Belt,” Gill said. “The question of 14, 16, I think the more teams, the better. That’s more opportunity, so I would support expansion in that way.

“If we end up staying at 12, I actually think that we can make that work. But if you’re asking me what I prefer, I’d certainly prefer to go to 16 because I think that that creates more opportunities for our conference.”

Group of 5 leagues have twice gotten a team into the playoff, American Conference champion Cincinnati in 2021 and Mountain West champion Boise State in 2024. The Group of 5 also sent one team to a New Year’s Six bowl game under the 4-team format, but the Sun Belt has yet to be represented.

The Sun Belt likes to promote itself as the top “non-autonomy” conference in college football, but that depth of quality programs has not yet manifested itself in a playoff representative. Gill said that with the College Football Playoff trending toward considering strength of schedule more closely when choosing teams, that’s something that could work in the Sun Belt’s favor.

“One of the great things about the CFP process right now is they’re really taking a look at strength of schedule,” Gill said. “And I think when you look at our conference from top to bottom, our strength of schedule — particularly amongst our peer conferences — is second to none, and I think that’s going to give us an advantage in terms of those metrics.

“It’s really hard to get through the Sun Belt and be undefeated. If that’s the expectation, it’s going to be a challenge, because week-in, week-out in this conference, you’re going to be playing some really, really difficult opponents. I think the strength of schedule is going to help level that playing field for the Sun Belt and create some opportunities.”