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The Athletic is reporting that the College Football Playoff Board of Managers has unanimously approved the 12-team playoff format.

6 highest-ranked conference champions + 6 highest-ranked at-large teams.

Very good news for SMU as well as our Power6 conference.

Great news for Mustangs, we just need to take care of business one game at a time, starting

with the Buzzards.

Note: Starts in 2026 season.

College Football Playoff Board of Managers votes to expand playoff to 12 teams

Six Highest-Ranked Conference Champions Along with Six At-Large Teams

Format to Begin for the 2026 Regular Season, Unless Earlier Implementation is Possible
IRVING, Texas – The Board of Managers, a group of university presidents and chancellors that oversees the College Football Playoff (CFP), today voted to expand the current four-team playoff into a 12-team playoff. The unanimous decision was reached during a video conference.

The new format, consistent with a proposal the board reviewed in the fall and winter of 2021-22, will begin in the 2026 college football regular season. The board has tasked the College Football Management Committee (the 10 conference commissioners and the Director of Athletics at the University of Notre Dame, who run the playoff) with assessing the possibility of beginning the expanded playoff in either the 2024 or 2025 regular season.

“This is an historic and exciting day for college football,” said Mark Keenum, the President of Mississippi State and the chairman of the CFP Board of Managers. “More teams, more participation and more excitement are good for our fans, alumni, and student-athletes. I’m grateful to my colleagues on the board for their thoughtful approach to this issue and for their resolve to get expansion across the goal line and for the extensive work of the Management Committee that made this decision possible.”

The Management Committee will implement the board’s decision, including determining such matters as the dates for games, broadcast entities, revenue allocations, sites of the 11 games, and the term of the agreement.

The board approved the following:

The 12 teams will be the six conference champions ranked highest by the selection committee (no minimum ranking requirement), plus the six highest-ranked teams not included among the six highest-ranked conference champions.
The ranking of the teams will continue to be done by a selection committee whose size, composition, and method of selection will remain substantially unchanged. The Management Committee will modify the selection protocol as required by the change to the playoff structure.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye.
The other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.)
The model allows for first-round games to be played on either the second or third weekend in December in a way that best accommodates the format and the participating teams, with at least 12 days between the conference championship games and the first-round games. The Management Committee would make the final determination of the calendar.
Subject to reaching agreement with bowls, the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games would be played in bowls on a rotating basis.
The national championship game will continue to be played at a neutral site.
Subject to reaching agreement with bowls, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be assigned to quarterfinals bowls on selection day in ranking order, and in consideration of current contract bowl relationships if those bowls are selected for the rotation. For example, if the Pac-12 champion were ranked #1, the Big Ten champion were ranked #3, and the Rose Bowl were a quarterfinal site, the Pac-12 champion would be assigned to the Rose Bowl and the Big Ten champion would be assigned elsewhere.
With the four highest-ranked champions assigned to quarterfinal games in bowls, the opponent from first-round game winners will be assigned by the selection committee based on the bracket.
The higher seeds would receive preferential placement in the Playoff Semifinal games.
First-round games will not have title or presenting sponsors and existing venue signage will remain in place. The CFP will control the video boards.

“I’m very pleased we were able to get this accomplished and I look forward to expansion taking place,” Keenum said. “The four-team playoff has been highly popular and successful. I believe this new format will be even more popular and successful.”

Members of the CFP Board of Managers are Timothy Caboni – Conference USA (President, Western Kentucky); Jim Clements – Atlantic Coast Conference (President, Clemson); Gordon Gee – Big 12 Conference (President, West Virginia); Jack Hawkins – Sun Belt Conference (President, Troy); Rev. John Jenkins – President, Notre Dame (Independent); Kristina Johnson – Big Ten Conference (President, Ohio State); Mark Keenum (chair) – Southeastern Conference (President, Mississippi State); Kirk Schulz – Pacific-12 Conference (President, Washington State); Satish Tripathi – Mid-American Conference (President, Buffalo); Gerald Turner – American Athletic Conference (President, SMU); Keith Whitfield – Mountain West Conference (President, UNLV).

For more information on the CFP, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.


About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 31, 2022, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Los Angeles region will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium.

Gerald Turner – American Athletic Conference (President, SMU)

Sounds like a fun playoff!

How many teams regret switching conferences with this announcement? Does OU have a better chance making the playoffs from the Big 12? Houston, Cincinnati or UCF from the AAC? Same for USC? Long term I think they made the right choice for recruiting reasons, but it is not as clear cut now. Are Oregon and Wash better off staying in the PAC 12?

OU, UT, UCLA USC and anyone else you can name are more interested in a lucrative TV contract than a better chance at winning a conference championship. The new system really benefits teams like UT that are perpetually overrated especially early in the season.

Topper wrote:OU, UT, UCLA USC and anyone else you can name are more interested in a lucrative TV contract than a better chance at winning a conference championship. The new system really benefits teams like UT that are perpetually overrated especially early in the season.

Agree 100% I hope UT is ready for a lot of 8-4 and 7-5 seasons. When was the last time they were rated in the top 10 at the end of the year? That is what they will need to make the playoffs when this new system kicks in. They were not even competing for Big 12 titles the last few years. Perpetual irrelevance will drive them crazy. Bets on when they will make it to an SEC championship game, much less win one? They may get money for the university, but it will drive the fan base to insanity.

The AAC's expansion plan effectively eliminates CUSA but we will be competing with the MWC & SunBelt for that 6th highest rating and not sure I like our chances of earning an automatic invite in this new format. Much better off hoping to join one of the P5 conferences for the guaranteed money that brings. I assume at some point conferences will adjust their revenue sharing schemes in an effort maintain their current memberships. It's pretty clear that not every school is worthy of an equal share of conference revenue. SMU really needs to show it can build and sustain a Top 25 caliber team in the new world of NIL. If the product is good and the networks want SMU, we won't be easily ignored.

"Today's expansion of the College Football Playoff from the current format of four teams to 12 teams is exciting for the entire sport, but even more so for SMU. The fact that the six highest rated conference champions are guaranteed a playoff spot is a major victory for us, providing a level of access that has been lacking for SMU and so many programs.

"We want to thank the Board of Managers for this unanimous decision, and I and the rest of the Mustang Nation owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Turner, as he represented the American Athletic Conference on this board and played a big role in this process.

"This is a great day for SMU Football and the American Athletic Conference, and I cannot think of better news to receive as we head into our first game tomorrow at North Texas."

- Rick Hart, SMU Director of Athletics

This is starting in 2026? Then the AAC is certainly not a P6 conference. I'll assume that it will always be a MWC champion at that point.

Just win ... starting tonight.
Beat NTSU!

Remains to be seen who will be regarded the P6 conference. PAC12 may go after a lot of MWC teams in a desperate attempt to save itself if need be. AAC, and MWC might fight over some of the orphans.

PlanoStang wrote:Remains to be seen who will be regarded the P6 conference. PAC12 may go after a lot of MWC teams in a desperate attempt to save itself if need be. AAC, and MWC might fight over some of the orphans.

Agree. Four years now seems like an eternity in terms of knowing who will be competing against who in what conference

First, this is good for college FB. Beyond expanding the number of teams and guaranteeing one G5 champion an automatic slot, it may slow the rush to the P2 for some PAC12 and perhaps ACC schools. The decision means a conference championship is a more likely path to the CFPs, e.g., OR and WA. Stability is needed against the predatory behavior of the BiG10. With GoR in the ACC, the SEC will defer for a long time expanding again.

The prospect of some stability for the next 5-7 years gives the PAC12 (10) and its schools a reason to stay together. And, this means expansion of 2 or 4 schools greater likelihood of happening. And, that means San Diego State and at least be one more school will be added in the near term.