Breaking: College Football Playoff to Expand to 12 Teams Beginning in 2024

The top four seeds will be the highest-ranked conference champions, while the remaining two conference champions and six at-large bids will compose the rest of the field.

The College Football Playoff Board of Managers agreed on Thursday morning to begin expand the playoff to a 12-team format beginning during the 2024-25 season.

While the current format consists of four highest-ranked teams named by the committee in the CFP Rankings, the new format will consist of the top 12 teams as determined by the committee. The top four seeds of the playoff will be awarded to the highest-ranked conference champions. Two more conference champions will also be awarded bids, with the highest ranked Group of 5 champion also be included in the mix for a total of six conference champions.

The remaining six teams will receive at-large bids based on being the highest-ranked teams that are not conference champions. Alabama, for example, would be one of those teams this season.

“We’re delighted to be moving forward,” said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff in a statement. “When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work. More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes. We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen.”

The first round of the playoff will take place in 2024 the week ending Saturday, Dec. 21 and will be hosted at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at a site designated by the higher-seeded team. The four highest-ranked teams will receive a bye.

Official dates for the first-round games will be determined at a later date.

“This is a great day for college football,” said Mark Keenum, President of Mississippi State University and chairman of the CFP Board of Managers. “I’m glad we are able to follow through and launch the expanded playoff early. It’s very exciting for schools, alumni and everyone involved.”

For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinal games and two semifinal games will be played in bowl games on a rotating basis. In 2024, the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host the quarterfinals, while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals.

In 2025, the quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, with the semifinals being played in the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. Specific dates for both the 2024 and 2025 CFP games will be announced at a later date.

The CFP National Championship will be played on Jan. 20, 2025 in Atlanta and Jan. 19, 2026 in Miami.

“On behalf of the Management Committee and the Board of Managers, this is thrilling,” Hancock added in a statement. “It’s been a long process, but we are pleased that more teams and more students will have the opportunity to compete for the national championship beginning in the 2024 season. A new era of college football is about to begin. I look forward to it.”

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