Nov 21, 2014 04:58 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The inaugural College Football Playoff (CFP) has not even began, but the majority of coaches in the nation would prefer an eight-team field to the current four-team format.

According to an anonymous ESPN poll, 44 percent of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) coaches would favor an eight-team playoff. 29 percent validated the current four-team format while 17 percent would like to see 16 teams enter the tournament.

103 of the 128 FBS coaches responded to the weekly poll, conducted by ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

CFP executive director Bill Hancock indicated that the format will stay at four teams for the course of the 12-year agreement it has with ESPN and that "there has been no discussion of expanding." However, the poll shows that there is clearly an interest in the game to expand the field.

Of those who voted for an eight-team CFP, most would like to see each Power Five conference champion get a spot, followed by the three highest-ranked teams remaining. Expanding past four teams figures to be more inclusive and could produce more opportunities for underdogs, like the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Of the five Power Conferences, only the Big 12 does not have a title game, which could threaten their champion's claim to a top-four spot. Meanwhile, the SEC figures to have a chance at getting more than one team into the playoff.

ACC commissioner John Swofford said recently that he tough an eight-team playoff would be the best solution for the CFP, the Durham Herald-Sun reported.

"I don't think all the controversy's going to go away," Swofford said of the current format. "You have four teams that get a chance to play for the national championship, which is twice as many as before, but whoever's fifth or sixth is not going to be happy. There will be some conferences that won't have a team in the playoff.

"The question is asked a lot, 'Why not eight?' or 'Will it become eight in a few years?' I can tell you why not eight, right now: The presidents made the decision as to how far we can go with the playoff, and the bookends are exams in December, and the presidents don't want football to become a two semester sport. Those concerns are education-based. So I think they're appropriate."

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