College Football Playoff to Include Five Conference Champions and Seven At-Large Selections in New Format
In an exciting development for college football fans, the College Football Playoff (CFP) will undergo a significant format change starting next season. The university presidents overseeing the CFP voted unanimously on Tuesday to include five conference champions and seven at-large selections in the 12-team playoff. This decision comes as a response to realignment and the disassembling of the Pac-12, which led to a decrease in the number of spots reserved for conference champions from six to five.
Originally, the plan for the 12-team format was to have the six highest-ranked conference champions, with the top four receiving first-round byes, and six at-large selections. However, with the Pac-12’s demise, the commissioners managing the CFP recommended a change to a 5-7 format. This adjustment ensures that no conference will have automatic access, and the five slots reserved for conference champions will go to the highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP selection committee. This change guarantees that at least one team from outside the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten, Big 12, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) will make it to the 12-team field.
The seven at-large bids will be determined by the selection committee’s rankings, with no limit on how many teams can come from the same league. This new format aims to create a merit-based system that rewards teams based on their performance and ranking.
American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco expressed his satisfaction with the new format, stating, “It basically confirms the spirit of the original 6-6, and that was done when you had five A5 conferences. To have a fifth (champion) is good, and it’s not a four-plus-one, which is good. It’s the best five… It’s a merit-based system.”
The upcoming season will mark the first time the CFP will feature a 12-team playoff after ten years of a four-team event. This expansion opens up opportunities for teams outside of the power conferences to compete for a national championship. In the previous decade, the only team from outside a power conference to make the final four was Cincinnati in 2021, after going undefeated in the American championship game. The Bearcats, now in the Big 12, eventually lost to Alabama in the semifinals.
Under the new format, the four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a first-round bye, while teams seeded fifth through twelfth will compete in first-round games on the home field of the higher-ranked team. The first of these games will take place on December 20, followed by the remaining first-round contests on the next day.
The quarterfinals and semifinal playoff games will be hosted by New Year’s Six bowl games. The Fiesta Bowl will host the first quarterfinal game on New Year’s Eve, followed by the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. The semifinal sites will be the Orange Bowl on January 9 and the Cotton Bowl on January 10. Finally, the national championship game will remain at a neutral site, with Atlanta hosting next season’s title game on January 20.
While the format change is undoubtedly exciting for college football enthusiasts, there are still other matters to be discussed by the CFP management committee. The committee, consisting of ten conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, will meet in person to address topics such as the pending six-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually between ESPN and the CFP. This deal would grant ESPN exclusive rights to broadcast the 12-team playoff until the 2031 season.
The future of college football is set to become even more thrilling with the introduction of the new CFP format. Fans can look forward to a more inclusive and competitive postseason, where teams from all conferences have a shot at glory. As the 12-team playoff takes center stage, the anticipation for the upcoming season continues to build.