7:40 PM ET
ESPN staff
Finally.
A process that began with a property merchandise connected June 10, 2021, came to a solution this week erstwhile the College Football Playoff announced Thursday it volition grow the sport's postseason to 12 teams successful clip for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
A full caller acceptable of challenges began this fall, erstwhile the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the CFP's committee of managers took power of the process and voted successful aboriginal September to grow the tract to 12 teams successful 2026. Since then, the presidents urged the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame diversion manager Jack Swarbrick to fig retired a mode to bash successful clip for the 2024 season.
This week, it all hinged connected the Rose Bowl -- the astir storied and accepted vessel -- relinquishing its petition that the CFP warrant the vessel its accepted New Year's Day timeslot astatine 2 p.m. PT successful the adjacent contract, which begins successful 2026.
"It's nary concealed that we were down to the last minutes of the 4th quarter," CFP enforcement manager Bill Hancock said. "And determination was nary overtime. And if we hadn't reached an agreement, there's nary question successful my caput that we would've continued the four-team playoff done the 2024 and 2025 seasons. No question successful my mind. But we're present to observe the information we did scope an agreement. I consciousness a small spot similar each manager who says we're going to observe this for 24 hours and we'll get started connected adjacent week. That's what volition hap here. There are tons of details to enactment unneurotic for [2024], but I'm delighted we get the accidental to enactment those details together."
How did they yet travel to an statement with the Rose Bowl? Who benefits the astir from the caller deal? And what comes next?
Heather Dinich, Adam Rittenberg and Pete Thamel interruption it each down.
What is the Rose Bowl's relation successful each of this?
In bid for the CFP to grow earlier the existent declaration expires pursuing the 2025 season, each parties had to unanimously hold to it. The Rose Bowl was the past to articulation the party. The treatment centered astir 1 of the astir lucrative tv windows successful assemblage sports. The Rose Bowl wants to support its exclusive broadcast model connected Jan. 1 astatine 2 p.m. PT successful years that it would besides big a CFP semifinal.
The Rose Bowl was consenting to temporarily concede its narration with the Big Ten and Pac-12 to big a quarterfinal crippled successful 2024 and 2025, but successful return, it wanted assurances astir its timeslot successful the caller contract.
Laura Farber, seat of the Rose Bowl Management Committee, told ESPN connected Thursday the vessel ne'er had immoderate intentions of preventing aboriginal enlargement and "relinquished that ask."
"In our negotiations, we had initially asked for an exclusive model astir the Rose Bowl Game's historical clip slot astatine 2 p.m. PT connected Jan. 1," she said. "While we relinquished that ask, the Tournament of Roses is going to proceed to enactment with the CFP Board of Managers connected however we volition acceptable into that CFP playoff rotation. It's our intent to support the Rose Bowl Game connected Jan. 1, but we'll stay flexible connected scheduling arsenic needed."
The CFP didn't privation to marque immoderate promises -- and it inactive doesn't.
"There are nary guarantees for 2026 and beyond," Hancock said. "Nothing is locked in. We volition code each the bowls connected the aforesaid ground erstwhile that clip comes."
The Rose Bowl volition big the quarterfinals successful 2024 and 2025 successful its aforesaid humanities clip model and its existing tv contract. Hancock said determination hasn't been overmuch treatment astir the adjacent contract, which volition statesman successful 2026, and they volition "address each the bowls connected the aforesaid basis."
"I would accidental that it would beryllium successful everyone's champion involvement for immoderate CFP that happens successful the Rose Bowl to footwear disconnected astir 2 p.m. PT," helium said.
How does this interaction the regular-season schedule?
For now, determination aren't immoderate plans to determination the play oregon commencement astatine Week 0 successful the existent contract, but Hancock said conversations astir it "will continue." It's little a CFP contented than it is simply a wholistic look astatine the sport's calendar, which is thing that would beryllium discussed astatine the level of the commissioners.
"No 1 is precise acold down the roadworthy connected that," helium said.
Hancock said helium doesn't deliberation a 12-team tract volition person immoderate important changes connected the regular season, different than much meaningful games successful November.
"The regular play has go much important," helium said. "The crippled of assemblage shot is surely precise healthy. Look astatine the viewership. Look astatine the fig of radical successful the stands. I deliberation this 12-team tourney volition lone heighten that."
With the six highest-ranked league champions guaranteed a spot successful the 12-team field, it's imaginable diversion directors are much inclined to instrumentality risks successful the nonconference docket and adhd high-quality Power 5 opponents to the slate. There volition beryllium little unit to decorativeness undefeated oregon with 1 nonaccomplishment successful the caller format.
What is the format?
The caller format would commencement with the 2024 season, truthful we'll person 2 much playoffs nether the existent format -- this twelvemonth and adjacent year.
The tract volition beryllium composed of the enactment committee's six highest-ranked league champions and its adjacent six highest-ranked teams. The 4 highest-ranked league champions volition gain the apical seeds and a first-round bye. The different 8 teams volition play successful the archetypal round, with the higher seeds hosting the little seeds connected field oregon astatine different tract of their choice.
The archetypal circular of the playoff successful 2024 volition instrumentality spot the week ending Saturday, Dec. 21, apt precocious successful that week. The circumstantial dates volition beryllium announced later.
For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the 4 quarterfinal games and 2 semifinal games volition beryllium played successful bowls connected a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals volition instrumentality spot successful the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, portion the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl volition big the semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals volition instrumentality spot successful the Cotton, Orange, Rose and Sugar, portion the Fiesta and Peach volition big the semifinals.
The nationalist title games volition beryllium played Jan. 20, 2025, successful Atlanta, and Jan. 19, 2026, successful Miami.
How a 12-team playoff would look today
Championship Week games and the last playoff rankings for this twelvemonth are inactive to come, but based connected the existent CFP rankings, an expanded playoff would look similar this:
Seeds with byes
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. USC
Remaining seeds
(conference champs successful bold)
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Tennessee
8. Penn State
9. Clemson
10. Kansas State
11. Utah
12. Tulane
First-round games
No. 12 Tulane astatine No. 5 Ohio State
No. 11 Utah astatine No. 6 Alabama
No. 10 Kansas State astatine No. 7 Tennessee
No. 9 Clemson astatine No. 8 Penn State
Quarterfinal games
No. 9 Clemson-No. 8 Penn State victor vs. No. 1 Georgia
No. 10 Kansas State-No. 7 Tennessee victor vs. No. 2 Michigan
No. 11 Utah-No. 6 Alabama victor vs. No. 3 TCU
No. 12 Tulane-No. 5 Ohio State victor vs. No. 4 USC
How did they extremity up astatine 12 implicit 8 oregon 16?
There has ever been beardown enactment astatine some the statesmanlike and commissioner level for 12 teams, and portion of it is due to the fact that they similar the first-round byes for the apical 4 seeds, but besides due to the fact that of the workable logistics successful the wide assemblage shot calendar. While determination were immoderate who astatine slightest wanted to see the anticipation of a 16-team format, determination simply wasn't capable interest.
"You commencement getting down into immoderate of the details and logistics ... and past idiosyncratic said, 'Well, wherefore can't we deliberation astir different options?'" Mississippi State president and CFP committee seat Mark Keenum said successful September. "Well, I'll accidental this, each of the presidents judge that the 12-team format is the close happening to do, for this time, astatine this moment." -- Dinich
How does this impact aboriginal league realignment?
The biggest reverberation is that the six at-large bids volition service arsenic a lure to support Notre Dame autarkic successful the contiguous future. With wide playoff entree and NBC appearing motivated to support Notre Dame present that it has a portion of the Big Ten, the 2 biggest tentpoles to Irish independency look acceptable for the contiguous future.
As for the remainder of assemblage football, this is simply a fascinating question. The wealth spread betwixt the Big Ten and SEC and the remainder of the leagues remains large. There volition ever beryllium motivated schools jockeying to articulation those leagues. But the information that determination volition beryllium automatic bids for the apical six league champions adds a furniture of certainty to leagues similar the Pac-12 and Big 12 that person been wounded by caller defections. Holistically, it helps the sport. Realignment would hap unrelated to playoff access. -- Thamel
Who benefits astir from an expanded playoff? Does it wounded anyone?
The SEC has had the astir appearances (10), wins (14) and championships (5) during the CFP era, and apt volition heighten its stock of the tract with up to 7 disposable slots. Although commissioner Greg Sankey repeatedly stated the league was good with a four-team playoff, the fig of CFP-capable programs successful his league, positive the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, accrued the request for access. The Big Ten besides stands to benefit, arsenic the league has packed the apical 12 of the last CFP standings, but has had lone six full appearances by 3 teams successful the four-team model.
The exemplary besides marks a important triumph for the Group of 5 conferences, which produced their archetypal CFP subordinate successful the four-team strategy past twelvemonth (Cincinnati) and unanimously supported the 12-team proposal. At slightest 1 Group of 5 programme volition marque the 12-team playoff annually, and the improved profiles of leagues specified arsenic the AAC and Sun Belt summation the chances of 2 Group of 5 participants successful immoderate years. Although Group of 5 participants apt volition beryllium roadworthy teams playing successful first-round matchups, they yet person a existent spot astatine the table.
The ballot is bully quality for Notre Dame, which volition person six entree points alternatively of four. Athletic manager Jack Swarbrick was portion of the four-man moving radical that successful June 2021 presented the 12-team model, which was aboriginal adopted. He remained an ardent protagonist and state to Sankey and others during the tense commissioner meetings that followed.
There are nary evident losers successful an expanded playoff, though the yearly organisation of teams could reenforce the spread betwixt the SEC and the Big Ten and the different powerfulness conferences. A exemplary guaranteeing spots for the six highest-rated league champions creates the anticipation of leagues specified arsenic the Pac-12, Big 12 oregon ACC being near retired entirely, which would sting successful aggregate ways. The Pac-12 hasn't had a CFP squad since 2016, portion the Big 12's lone CFP participant, Oklahoma, soon volition depart for the SEC. But a postseason strategy that triples the fig of spots should, successful theory, assistance each powerfulness league. -- Rittenberg
Is this the past clip we spot playoff expansion?
One of galore unanswered questions is however agelong the adjacent declaration volition be, which volition assistance find however committed the presidents are to this format. The existent declaration was 12 years, with the four-team playoff successful spot for 10. If there's 1 happening that's definite astir assemblage athletics, it's that thing is definite for immoderate magnitude of time.
"Will we ever beryllium astatine a 12-team [format]? I can't reply that," Keenum said successful September. "We proceed to look for ways to further amended the playoff going guardant ... And my goodness, I person a caput shot manager [Mike Leach] who thinks we ought to person a 64-team playoff. I mean, that's what helium believes, truthful my constituent is there's ever going to beryllium country for improvement." -- Dinich
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