The College Football Playoff will expand to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season, ushering in a new era for the sport and placing a greater emphasis on strength of schedule throughout the regular season.
Under the approved format, the field will consist of 19 at-large selections, the four champions of the Autonomy Four (A4) conferences as determined by each league, and the highest-ranked Group of 6 (G6) team. With conference championship games eliminated, conference titles will be awarded based on each conference’s chosen method, removing an additional layer of postseason play from the calendar.
The structure of the playoff will reward the highest-seeded teams. Seeds No. 1 through No. 8 will receive a first-round bye and then host a playoff game on campus in the second round. Teams seeded No. 9 through No. 16 will host opening-round contests, with matchups including No. 16 versus No. 17, the winner of which would advance to face the No. 1 seed.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will continue to be played within the New Year’s Six bowl rotation, including the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange, and Cotton bowls, while the national championship game will remain in January.
The playoff’s expansion also comes with new scheduling standards designed to strengthen regular-season competition. Each A4 institution will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games comprised of conference contests and non-conference games against other A4 opponents or Notre Dame. G6 institutions will likewise be required to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games, consisting of conference matchups and non-conference contests against G6 opponents, A4 opponents, Notre Dame, or other FBS independents.
Additionally, the CFP Selection Committee will not give any weight to victories over more than one FCS opponent in a season. Schools that schedule multiple FCS programs will receive selection credit for only one such win, further incentivizing stronger non-conference schedules as teams position themselves for one of the 24 playoff spots.
QUOTES
Regarding expansion, the CFP issued the following statement:
“The decision to expand was driven by a desire to increase opportunities for FBS programs, student-athletes and fan bases to participate in the Playoff and have a chance to play for the CFP National Championship, while new scheduling standards incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season. The expanded format will feature 16 on-campus Playoff games, which will bring Playoff football to more students and local fans while providing a positive impact for campus communities.”
Chairman of the CFP Board of Managers, Dr. Mark Keenum:
“I would like to commend the CFP Management Committee for their vision, diligence and collaboration in reaching this landmark decision, Executive Director Rich Clark for his steady leadership throughout the expansion process, and the CFP staff as a whole for their work and support. Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football. We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season.”
CFP Executive Director, Rich Clark:
“We will make the 24-team Playoff spectacular for the fans, student-athletes, their institutions and all our stakeholders. That is our commitment. Our organization delivers a world-class championship experience at our games and our events, and this promise will continue under the new format. 23 games of Playoff football, featuring 24 ranked teams going head-to-head for the right to be crowned the true national champion.
We are also thrilled to continue our broadcast partnership with ESPN, which has been a terrific partner of the CFP since its inception. Like the CFP, ESPN celebrates everything that makes the sport of college football so great. The promotion, storytelling and innovation ESPN brings to the CFP, college football fans and the sport in general, is second to none. We know that level of excellence will continue as we embark on this journey to a 24-team format. We’d like to thank our media advisors at CAA for their work and support getting this agreement completed. This would not have been possible without their guidance and expertise.”
ESPN Chairman, Jimmy Pitaro:
“ESPN and the College Football Playoff have worked collaboratively for more than a decade to make the CFP one of the marquee events in all of sports, and we remain firmly committed to elevating it in its new, expanded 24-team format. We value the trust that the CFP has placed in us as its exclusive media partner, and our continued presentation of this premier championship further solidifies ESPN as the home of college football and the destination for college sports for years to come.”
24-team College Football Playoff infographics pic.twitter.com/TczeCcMujT
— FBSchedules.com (@FBSchedules) November 9, 2026
24 team field should include FOUR G6 teams.
I would think it should include six G6 teams. There’s no excuse at 24 teams to exclude any FBS conference champions. The FCS has a 24 team playoff with auto bids for 11 conference champions. But I guess everyone is just clamoring to see 8-4 SEC teams.
It needs to be 32 teams because the first-round bye has done more harm than good.
Plus with 32 teams, all G6 conference champions can make the field.
With the advancement of AI a non biased calculation approved by all conferences should set the seeds. Not a bunch of people in a room with an agenda. This is the only way home field advantage should be given.
This is what we had years ago with the BCS people decided they didn’t want computers picking the teams for the playoff because the computers actually chose the best teams and fan basis for certain teams felt they were going to get left out because their teams didn’t stack up well with what the computers came up with, because their team played weak conference teams, and the conferences were a strong teams would get an advantage over them
There are not 24 teams capable of winning the National Championship, so the size of the selected manifold is way too large. No mandatory Group of 6 selections beyond the one conference champion is a good thing. It reflects the reality evidenced in the expenditures and revenue marked on the budget sheets of the Power-4 athletic departments to those not present within the Group of 6. As well, no special “carve-out” for Notre Dame = get a real schedule for get left out.
There aren’t 76 (or 68) teams capable of winning the MBB national title yet that’s the size of the Big Dance in March.