What many fans feared, and what college football’s money makers long advocated for, is finally on the horizon.
Starting likely next season, the College Football Playoff will expand to 24 teams, doubling the field in the race to win the national championship.
There go the conference championship games. Here come a ton of new contenders.
Based on what we know right now, here are five major changes coming to college football when its postseason doubles.
1. The Death of Conference Championship Games
To accommodate a 24-team tournament without extending the season deep into February, major conferences will undergo a massive scheduling overhaul.
The traditional conference championship games held in early December are expected to be completely eliminated. This frees up the necessary calendar space for the extra rounds of the expanded playoff and prevents player fatigue from reaching an unsustainable level. And it cans another tradition.
2. A New 24-Team Bid Structure
While final details are still being ironed out, talks about the 24-team College Football Playoff field have included 19 at-large bids, including the various Power Four conference champions as determined by each league and the highest-ranked Group of Six team.
The historic New Year’s Six bowls — Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange, and Cotton — are still expected to host the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff games, with the national championship game remaining in January.
3. What the Games Will Look Like
The reward for a dominant regular season will be higher than ever under the new format:
Seeds 1–8: Earn a crucial first-round bye and are guaranteed home-field advantage later in the tournament.
Seeds 9–16: Host opening-round playoff games directly on their own campuses, bringing the electric atmosphere of playoff football to local university stadiums.
Seeds 17–24: Travel on the road for the first round.
4. Rich People Make More Money
That’s not technically a change, is it? But they will make more of it. So there’s that.
Expanding the field adds 12 extra playoff games to the television schedule, creating a massive financial windfall. ESPN and playoff officials have reportedly negotiated an additional funding package expected to exceed $300 million annually. That’s on top of a deal that is already worth about $1.2 billion every year.
This influx of cash is specifically designed to offset the lost revenue from canceling conference championship games and to provide schools with higher postseason payouts.
5. Uh, What Happens to the Bowl Games?
Mid-tier and lower-tier bowl games have been facing declining relevance for some time now, looking at potential sponsor or financial losses, and widespread player opt-outs or teams declining invitations. It remains unclear how many traditional minor bowls can survive as more teams are absorbed into a massive postseason tournament.
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