Sports
College Football Playoff to Expand to 24 Teams, Scrapping Conference Title Games
The College Football Playoff will double to 24 teams starting next season, ending conference championship games and adding $1.7 billion to ESPN's contract. The change opens a wider path to the national title for Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana.
The College Football Playoff will expand to 24 teams beginning next season, a move that doubles the current field and eliminates the conference championship games that have long been a staple of the college football calendar.
The new format, announced Monday by college leaders, comes after ESPN agreed to rework its contract to add 11 new games. The network said the deal is for five years and worth an additional $1.7 billion, on top of the $7.8 billion contract that runs through the 2031 season. Terms were not disclosed.
For fans in Louisville, Lexington, and Bloomington, the change means a wider path to the national playoff for the Cardinals, Wildcats, and Hoosiers. But it also means the end of conference title games for the ACC, SEC, and Big Ten, all of which will no longer stage those marquee matchups.
The revenue from the new playoff games is expected to offset the estimated $345 million that the Power Four conference title games were worth. ESPN reported it would not be on the hook for $140 million of the extra money due to the cancellation of the title games.
Under the new format, five automatic qualifiers will be the champions of the Power Four leagues and the best-ranked team from the smaller Group of Six conferences. The remaining 19 teams will be chosen by a selection panel. Notre Dame will not receive any guaranteed berth, unlike this year when it would qualify if ranked in the top 12 for the final season of the 12-team playoff.
The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes, and the playoff will begin on the second weekend in December, with the first two rounds played on campus. The traditional Army-Navy game will be played on the first weekend in December, a slot previously reserved for conference title games.
The Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, whose approval was needed for the change, along with the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference, are betting that most of the additional spots will go to their members. That could give second-tier teams new motivation to keep spending big in an era of name, image, and likeness deals and football rosters that cost upward of $50 million.
âOpening the playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football,â said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP board. âWe look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season.â
The first championship game for the 24-team playoff is set for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans. Traditional bowl games will continue to host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
As part of the expansion, the CFP is requiring Power Four teams to play at least 10 âqualifyingâ regular-season games against conference foes, other Power Four opponents, and Notre Dame. Group of Six teams must play 10 games against conference opponents and a mix of G6 teams, Notre Dame, and other independents. The agreement also guarantees two off weeks during a regular season that will begin the week before Labor Day.