The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for the upcoming season despite discussions about expansion.
Despite discussions about expansion, the College Football Playoff will stick with 12 teams for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The College Football Playoff management committee reached an agreement to hold off an moving to a 14 or 16-team field Friday.
ESPN, the rights holder for the annual event, gave the committee a Jan. 23 deadline to reach a decision on expansion. The two sides had already agreed to extend the deadline from Dec. 1.
“After ongoing discussion about the 12-team playoff format, the decision was made to continue with the current structure,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a statement. “This will give the Management Committee additional time to review the 12-team format, so they can better assess the need for potential change. While they all agree the current format has brought more excitement to college football and has given more schools a real shot in the postseason, another year of evaluation will be helpful.”
Amid continuing frustration about schools being left out, there has been a growing push for a move to 16-team field. The Big Ten and SEC are reportedly in disagreement about the future of the playoff. The SEC has pushed for a 16-team field while the Big Ten would like to see 24 schools make the playoff.
The latest decision to remain at 12 teams should give both sides more time to iron things out. It will also allow decision-makers the chance to see how recent changes impact the field. The ACC, for example, is moving to a nine-game conference schedule in the 2026 season.
More Changes Coming To College Football Playoff
The field will not go completely unchanged for the 2026 season. Notre Dame was one of the programs left out of the 12-team field in 2025 amid some controversy. Because ACC champion Duke was not ranked after finishing the regular season 7-5, it allowed James Madison to become part of the field.
Miami also earned an at-large bid over the Irish. The Hurricanes made the most of their opportunity and reached the national championship game, which it lost to Indiana this week. A few of those things would not happen with the changes made Friday.
When ESPN and College Football Playoff agreed to its current deal in 2024, Notre Dame worked out a memorandum of understanding that would allow guarantee its spot in the field with a top-12 finish. That goes into effect beginning with the 2026 season.
The Irish ranked 11th when the final CFP poll was released. Under the rules for the upcoming season, Notre Dame would not have been left out of the 2025 playoff.
Additionally, Miami would have been left out with Duke taking its place because of another change. Moving forward, the champions from the Power Four leagues will all be guaranteed spots in the College Football Playoff.
The highest-ranked conference champion from the remaining leagues will also have an automatic bid for the 12-team field. The group now includes a rebuilt Pac-12 as the sixth conference.
Format remains unchanged
There will be some differences in who makes the 12-team field, but there will be no changes to how the playoff plays out. The first round matchups will again take place on the campus sites while the CFP bowls will host the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The 2026-27 national championship game will mark the latest title matchup in history. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will host the championship game on Jan. 25, 2027.
