Playoff expands to 24 teams
The four power conferences are dropping championship games to fit the extra round of play.
By Anthony Foster ·
The college football playoff will double in size from 12 teams to 24 starting with the 2027 season. The expansion changes how the postseason works and how the regular season is valued. The change comes with a new financial deal for the rights holder.
The format will include five automatic bids. The winners of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC will earn a spot. The top-ranked team from a mid-major conference will take the fifth automatic slot. A selection committee will choose the remaining 19 teams. Most of those spots will likely go to teams from the four major conferences. This means teams with three or four regular season losses can still make the tournament.
The top eight ranked teams will receive a first round bye. The other 16 teams will play in a new first round. To fit these games into the schedule, the four power conferences agreed to stop holding conference championship games. Those titles have existed for about two or three decades. The move removes a long standing goal for many programs.
ESPN will broadcast the expanded field. The network will reportedly pay hundreds of millions of dollars more per season. This addition comes on top of a contract worth more than a billion dollars that the company signed a few years ago. The extra revenue helps cover rising costs in college football. Teams now pay players, coaching staffs, and for better facilities.
NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan noted that television ratings for college football dropped by about 6 percent this year. Some networks saw declines of more than 10 percent. Attendance figures have also drawn concern from observers. Sullivan said the expansion might further reduce the importance of regular season games. She noted that it is hard to know if the move is good for the sport long term.
Schools have had to raise millions of dollars annually from alumni and donors. The expanded playoff makes it easier to justify those costs to supporters. A team with a losing record can now still compete for a national title. This shifts the focus away from the regular season and toward the post season.
