The College Football Playoff announced Friday that its current four-team format will continue through the end of the current contract, which expires following the 2025 season. There has been speculation that the CFP could expand to a proposed 12-team format prior to the end of the current deal.
“The Board of Managers has accepted a recommendation from the Management Committee to continue the current four-team playoff for the next four years, as called for in the CFP’s original 12-year plan,” said College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock. “At the same time, the Board expects the Management Committee to continue its discussions of a new format that would go into effect for the 2026-27 season.”
A four-person sub-group of the CFP management committee announced in June that it has developed a 12-team format. That format would allow the top six conference champions to earn berths regardless of which conference they’re in. The remaining six spots would be at-large bids as determined by the CFP selection committee. First-round games would have been played on the campus of the higher-seeded team two weeks after conference championship games, and quarterfinal matchups would have taken place on Jan. 1 or 2. The top four seeds would have received byes in the proposed format.
Source: The College Football Playoff is expected to announce today it is continuing as a four-team playoff for the next four years through the length of the original contract.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 18, 2022
BREAKING: The College Football Playoff will stay at four teams through the duration of its current contract, source tells @TheAthletic. No expanded field until 2026 at the earliest.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) February 18, 2022