On the heels of what many consider the most compelling season in College Football Playoff history, and with the University of Miami set to face Indiana in the College Football National Championship on January 19, uncertainty still surrounds the future of the CFP format.
According to multiple reports from ESPN, a 16-team College Football Playoff could be implemented in 2026—provided Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey are able to reach a compromise. While a majority of CFP stakeholders support expansion, failure by the two commissioners to find common ground would result in the playoff remaining at its current 12-team format for the 2026 season.
CFP leadership—which includes Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, the 10 FBS conference commissioners, and 11 university chancellors and presidents—is scheduled to meet January 18 for its annual review. The state of the playoff is expected to be a central topic of discussion. However, during the 2024 contract negotiations with ESPN, Petitti and Sankey were granted significant authority over the CFP format beginning in 2026, a decision agreed upon by the other commissioners and Notre Dame’s AD, a move that could stifle negotiations should these two commissioners fail to compromise.
Its reports that only two expansion models are currently under consideration. The first is a 16-team format consisting of five conference champions—one of which would be the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Six—along with 11 at-large teams. The second proposal would expand the field to 24 teams.
How did we get here? The CFP debuted in 2014 with a four-team format, replacing the BCS after a 16-year run. It expanded to 12 teams in 2024 under a two-year contract, and another expansion now appears imminent, pending agreement between the Big Ten and SEC. Still, questions remain about issues already exposed by this year’s playoff: the inclusion/exclusion of a five-loss ACC champion in Duke, the role of Group of Five programs, regular-season scheduling, the transfer portal, NIL contracts, the impact on traditional bowl games—including the Army-Navy rivalry—and even the makeup of the selection committee itself.
Does expansion solve these problems, or does it simply create a new set of unforeseen challenges for college football’s postseason?
