The College Football Playoff will double from 12 to 24 teams for the 2027–28 season after its management committee unanimously approved the change on Monday, November 9, in Irving, Texas. The governing body said the larger field is intended to give more schools, players and supporters a route to the national championship. This season’s 2026–27 tournament will retain the 12-team format.
The new field will include the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, plus the highest-ranked team from six other conferences. A selection committee will choose the remaining 19 teams from its final rankings. The four major leagues will decide how to determine their champions; the playoff organization said decisions about the future of conference championship games belong to each conference.
Under the approved bracket, the eight highest seeds receive a first-round bye and host second-round games. Seeds nine through 16 host seeds 17 through 24 in the opening round. The first two rounds account for 16 games on college campuses, compared with four campus games in the current format. Quarterfinals and semifinals will remain at the six established bowl sites.
The playoff also announced a new media-rights agreement making ESPN the exclusive worldwide rights holder for the 23-game tournament through the 2031–32 season, subject to sublicensing. The organization did not disclose financial terms. ESPN told the Associated Press that the expansion adds about $1.7 billion over five years to its existing agreement.
New scheduling standards call for schools in the four major conferences to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games against league opponents, other major-conference teams or Notre Dame. The playoff said the changes aim to encourage stronger nonconference matchups. It also said no playoff game will conflict with the annual Army–Navy game.
The first 24-team postseason will begin in the first full week of December 2027, after the final regular-season games on November 27. Its championship game is scheduled for January 24, 2028, in New Orleans. The playoff said additional dates, including the day the field is selected, will be announced later.
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