Joel Klatt Walks Back NCAA Tournament Critique, But Doubles Down on College Football Playoff Stance
Joel Klatt stirred the pot this week-and then tried to cool it off. The longtime Fox Sports analyst and voice of college football didn’t hold back when he questioned the value of including smaller programs in the College Football Playoff. In the process, he took a flamethrower to the NCAA basketball tournament, calling it "the dumbest tournament and the least fair tournament in all of sports."
That take, unsurprisingly, didn’t go over well.
Speaking on The Next Round, Klatt argued that college football isn’t in the business of Cinderellas. “No one in football cares about James Madison,” he said, bluntly. He then pivoted to basketball, calling the NCAA tournament “a joke” for how it’s structured-a single-elimination format played on neutral courts at odd times, with no real regard for crowning the best team over the full course of the season.
His idea? A group-stage format similar to the World Cup. It’s certainly a radical departure from March Madness as we know it.
But after catching heat for the comments, Klatt walked some of it back on his own podcast Thursday.
“I had an interesting take. It was a bad take, it was a terrible take,” he admitted. “What I said on their show Monday morning was sloppy and worded wrong.”
Klatt clarified that his issue isn’t with the excitement or entertainment value of the NCAA tournament-he actually loves it-but with the idea that it’s supposed to determine the best team in college basketball. “It’s a made-for-TV entertainment event,” he said.
“It’s great. But if you’re asking me if it’s structured properly to crown the best team of the season, then the answer’s no.”
He conceded that calling it “a joke” was an overreach, but stood firm on his underlying point: The tournament rewards survival, not necessarily season-long excellence.
“You love the Cinderellas early,” Klatt said, “but late, you want to see the best teams playing against each other. ... Because that’s greatness.”
That’s where his stance on college football diverges-and where he hasn’t budged.
Klatt remains adamant that the College Football Playoff should prioritize the best teams, not just the most feel-good stories. His main issue lies with the automatic bid given to the fifth-highest ranked conference champion, a spot designed to ensure a Group of 5 team gets in. According to Klatt, that rule exists more to avoid antitrust litigation than to reward deserving teams.
But here’s where things get interesting: If James Madison, the Group of 5 darling this season, were to go into Eugene and upset the heavily favored Ducks, it would instantly become one of the biggest stories in recent college football memory. That hypothetical quarterfinal matchup-say, James Madison vs.
Texas Tech-would draw major attention. And if the Dukes kept winning?
The chaos would be electric.
The irony? That kind of Cinderella run would generate the exact kind of buzz Klatt says doesn’t belong in the playoff.
"It was a bad take. It was a terrible take."@joelklatt revisits one of the "worst takes of the year" on the structure of March Madness. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/FzwDTsiBVA
— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) December 18, 2025
Meanwhile, the Big Ten-the very conference Klatt’s network, Fox, is deeply tied to-has been pushing for an even more expanded playoff model. The league has floated a 24-team format that would shift the CFP even further toward an invitational style, with multiple automatic bids for top teams from the Big Ten and SEC. That would mean more representation for teams like this year’s 9-3 USC squad, which few would consider a serious title contender.
Just two weeks ago, Klatt himself floated a playoff structure on his podcast that echoed the Big Ten’s vision: a larger field, more automatic bids, and a round of play-in games. So while he’s critical of the current structure for letting in smaller programs, he’s also been a vocal advocate for a model that could open the door even wider-especially for the power conferences.
As it stands now, the 12-team College Football Playoff awards automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions. The idea was that those bids would typically go to champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and one Group of 5 team.
But the reality has been far more unpredictable.
In 2024, the Mountain West champion Boise State jumped the line, grabbing a bye as the No. 9-ranked team-leapfrogging both the Big 12 and ACC champions. Arizona State, the Big 12 champ, landed at No.
- Clemson, after beating SMU in the ACC title game, barely made the field at No.
The 2025 season? Even wilder.
Indiana (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC), and Texas Tech (Big 12) secured three of the automatic bids. Tulane, the American Athletic Conference champion, earned the top Group of 5 spot.
But the ACC turned into a rollercoaster.
Five-loss Duke made the ACC title game thanks to a strange tiebreaker and knocked off 10-2 Virginia. That opened the door for 12-1 James Madison, who ranked higher than Duke, to claim the automatic bid. Miami slipped in as an at-large, keeping the ACC from being completely shut out of the national title race.
So yes, the system is imperfect. But it’s also delivering drama-and storylines-that college football hasn’t seen before.
Klatt may not want Cinderellas in the playoff, but the sport might be better for it. Because if James Madison keeps making noise, it’s not just a feel-good story-it’s a signal that the landscape of college football is changing.
And fans? They’re tuning in for every second of it.