IRVING, TEXAS — The College Football Playoff will double to 24 teams beginning with the 2027-28 season after the CFP Management Committee voted unanimously Monday to expand the field.
The bracket will take the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions, the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt, and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams. The top eight seeds get first-round byes, and 16 of the 23 games will be played on campus, up from four. ESPN, the playoff's exclusive home since 2015, holds the rights to all 23 games under a new agreement and can sublicense select games, in addition to its existing sublicense with TNT Sports; financial terms were not disclosed.
No playoff game will be scheduled against the Army-Navy game, and the CFP said the arrangement gives both academies an opportunity to compete for a national championship. This season's playoff stays at 12 teams, with the title game Jan. 25 in Las Vegas; the first 24-team final is set for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
"Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football," said Dr. Mark Keenum, chairman of the CFP Board of Managers.
Source: College Football Playoff
Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.
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