The new format, approved after the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences signed off, will feature five automatic qualifiers — the champions of the Power Four leagues and the highest-ranked team from the smaller Group of Six conferences — with the remaining 19 teams selected by a committee. Notre Dame, which currently receives a guaranteed spot if ranked in the top 12 in the final year of the 12-team format, will have no such protection under the expanded system.

The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes, and the playoff will begin on the second weekend of December, with the first two rounds played on campus. The traditional Army-Navy game will be played on the first weekend of December, a slot previously reserved for conference title games. The national championship game for the 24-team bracket remains scheduled for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans, and traditional bowl games will continue to host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.

ESPN agreed to rework its contract to add the 11 new games, a five-year deal worth an additional $1.7 billion on top of the existing $7.8 billion agreement that runs through the 2031 season. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed. The revenue from the added games is expected to offset the estimated $345 million value of the Power Four conference title games, and ESPN reported it would not owe $140 million of the extra money due to the cancellation of those games.

The expansion is designed in part to give more programs access to the postseason, but it also creates new incentives for second-tier teams in the power conferences to keep spending heavily in the era of name, image and likeness compensation and football rosters that can cost $50 million. The Power Four conferences are betting that most of the additional at-large spots will go to their members.

“Opening the playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football,” said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP board. “We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season.”

As part of the agreement, Power Four teams will be required to play at least 10 “qualifying” regular-season games against conference opponents, other Power Four opponents and Notre Dame. Group of Six teams must play 10 games against conference opponents and a mix of Group of Six teams, Notre Dame and other independents. The regular season will begin the week before Labor Day, and the agreement guarantees two off weeks during the regular season.

The move marks the end of a three-decade era in which conference championship games were among the most anticipated events on the college football calendar. It also concentrates more postseason revenue and exposure in the hands of the largest conferences, a shift that critics say could widen the gap between the Power Four and the rest of college football.