More changes.
Just under six months before the first college football season featuring a 12-team playoff system kicks off, a brand new 14-team system is set to be approved. The new format would begin in 2026, according to multiple reports on Thursday afternoon.
This coming just three weeks after the initial College Football Playoff meetings were held in Dallas, where the idea was initially proposed and was said to ‘have momentum.’
The next iteration of the College Football Playoff, starting in 2026, is expected to be formalized in the next 24 hours. A 14-team format is expected starting in 2026, as leagues are signing an MOU and having final discussions. https://t.co/BYQMosZRKG
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2024
The new system will include a new revenue model (of course) and new concepts for the format of the playoff. The 14-team CFP would start alongside of a new TV deal with ESPN in 2026. It’s expected that the SEC and Big Ten will receive the most revenue out of the new deal, splitting up to 58 percent of the pie. The ACC and Big 12 would be on a different tier, then the group of five would be on another tier.
The 12-team CFP will be used during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Following the mass exodus out of the Pac-12, the CFP moved to a 5-7 structure — five auto-bids for conference title winners and seven at-large bids for the rest of the field. This was a move from a previously announced 6-6 format.
It’s unclear what the 14-team system will look like. Auto-bids? What to do with the historic bowl matchups? More on-campus games? According to ESPN, those decisions will not be made until the new TV deal is finalized.
College football has certainly seen a multitude of changes over the past several years, and those changes don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.