College Football Playoff Expanding to 24 Teams Beginning With 2027-28 Season
IRVING, Texas – The College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee today, November 9, unanimously approved Playoff expansion to 24 teams, beginning with the 2027-28 college football season.
The CFP also announced a new media rights agreement with ESPN, making ESPN the exclusive, worldwide rightsholder to the expanded 24-team Playoff beginning with the 2027-28 season. ESPN, the exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, will present all 23 games of the new format, and will broadcast at least three games from each of the new CFP First Round and CFP Second Round on ABC. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement also includes continued exclusive rights to all ancillary programming connected to the Playoff, such as the CFP Selection Show and weekly CFP Top 25 Rankings shows.
The Field
The 24-team field will be comprised of the four conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC (as determined by their respective conferences), the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt, and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams in the final CFP Selection Committee ranking.
More Playoff Games on Campus
Sixteen of the 23 Playoff games will be played on campus, up from four in the current 12-team format. Both the CFP First and Second rounds will be played on the campus of the higher seed. Seeds 1-8 will each earn a first-round bye and will each host a CFP Second Round game on their respective campuses, while seeds 9-16 will each host a CFP First Round game against seeds 17-24. First and Second Round games will be played on the Thursday-Saturday of their respective weekends.
Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Title Games
CFP Quarterfinals and CFP Semifinals will continue to be played at the six CFP bowl partner locations: the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The first 24-team CFP National Championship will be played Monday, January 24, 2028, in New Orleans. Tampa Bay will host the title game Monday, January 22, 2029. This season's 12-team championship remains set for Monday, January 25, 2027, in Las Vegas.
Scheduling Standards
As part of the expansion, the CFP Management Committee adopted scheduling standards designed to encourage additional compelling non-conference, regular-season matchups. Each Autonomy 4 institution will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games, and each Group of 6 institution will be expected to play at least 10 qualifying regular-season games. The CFP Selection Committee will not give any weight to a win over more than one FCS opponent per season. The Management Committee may grant a waiver from the requirements in extraordinary circumstances.
No CFP games will be scheduled in conflict with the historic Army-Navy game, and Heisman Trophy Weekend will move one week earlier in 2027, to December 3-5, to accommodate the expanded postseason calendar.
Beginning in 2027-28, there will always be two open weeks in the regular season. The final regular-season games during the 2027-28 season will take place Saturday, November 27, 2027, and the Playoff will begin the first full week of December, with each qualifying team getting an open week before the CFP First Round. The top eight seeds will have two open weeks before playing their first game.
Decisions on the future of conference championship games rest with each conference.
What They're Saying
"The decision to expand was driven by a 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, while new scheduling standards incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season. The expanded format will feature 16 on-campus Playoff games, which will bring Playoff football to more students and local fans while providing a positive impact for campus communities," the CFP said in a statement.
"I would like to commend the CFP Management Committee for their vision, diligence and collaboration in reaching this landmark decision, Executive Director Rich Clark for his steady leadership throughout the expansion process, and the CFP staff as a whole for their work and support. Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football. We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season," said Dr. Mark Keenum, Chairman of the CFP Board of Managers.
"We will make the 24-team Playoff spectacular for the fans, student-athletes, their institutions and all our stakeholders. That is our commitment. Our organization delivers a world-class championship experience at our games and our events, and this promise will continue under the new format. 23 games of Playoff football, featuring 24 ranked teams going head-to-head for the right to be crowned the true national champion," said Rich Clark, CFP Executive Director.
"ESPN and the College Football Playoff have worked collaboratively for more than a decade to make the CFP one of the marquee events in all of sports, and we remain firmly committed to elevating it in its new, expanded 24-team format. We value the trust that the CFP has placed in us as its exclusive media partner, and our continued presentation of this premier championship further solidifies ESPN as the home of college football and the destination for college sports for years to come," said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
Reminder: this year's 2026-27 CFP will be played under the current 12-team Playoff format. The Playoff will remain at 24 teams for the duration of the agreement, through the 2031-32 season.
