College Football Playoff to Expand to 24 Teams in 2027, Power 4 Conference Championship Games Eliminated

A seismic shift is coming to college football.

The College Football Playoff, the FBS championship format that started at the end of the 2014-15 season, will expand to include 24 teams in the 2027-28 season, the CFP announced Monday. It’s a move that doubles the field from its current 12-team format and eliminates Power Four conference championship games.

Expansion news coincided with the announcement of a media rights deal between the CFP and ESPN, making ESPN the exclusive broadcast rights holder to all 23 games in the new format. The deal is valued at nearly $1.7 billion, per ESPN.

While conference championship games have been eliminated for the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, the expanded CFP will include 16 on-campus playoff games — a move that quadruples the four playoff games held on campus in the current 12-team format. Quarterfinal and semifinal games will continue to be hosted by the CFP’s six bowl partners:

• Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
• Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
• Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
• Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
• Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
• Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana

The 24-team format will guarantee bids for regular-season conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams, as determined by the CFP Selection Committee.

In an unattributed statement, CFP leaders said the decision came from the “desire to increase opportunities for FBS programs, student-athletes and fan bases to participate in the playoff and have a chance to play for the CFP National Championship.”

Regular Season Adjustments for 2027-28

College football’s regular season will start up a week early for all teams in 2027 in the “Week Zero” spot, ahead of Labor Day week. The season will end on Thanksgiving weekend, with Selection Day coming on November 28, 2027. The date of next season’s CFP National Championship Game is unchanged in the new format, as it will still be held on January 24, 2028 in New Orleans.

The announcement also noted that no future CFP games will conflict with the historic Army-Navy game, traditionally held at the end of the regular season. Next season, Army-Navy will take place on December 4, 2027 — the week that would’ve previously been occupied by conference championship games.

Teams seeded in Nos. 1-8 in the expanded CFP will receive a first-round bye and a home playoff game.

During a one-on-one conversation at the TEAMS Conference & Expo in October, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told SportsTravel Managing Editor Ted Keith that he saw expansion — especially the opportunity to host more playoff games on campus — as an “economic opportunity” for conferences.

In the current 12-team format, the top four seeds receive a first-round bye before quarterfinals, which are held at one of the CFP’s bowl partners. Nos. 5-8 host first-round playoff games on their home field.

“In (a 24-team playoff), the top 16 teams all host at their campus, so there’s a reward for the top eight seeds, which doesn’t exist right now for the top four,” Sankey said. “You engage campus communities in a way in mid-December that’s a new and unique opportunity. For those of you in this sports environment, that’s an economic opportunity. It’s a campus visit opportunity, and it’s a competitive experience for the participants.”