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College Football Playoff Reveals Details Of New 24-Team Format Beginning In 2027
8
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The College Football Playoff is officially expanding to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season, and new details have been released explaining how the expanded postseason will work.
The new format will feature 24 teams, eight first-round byes, 16 on-campus playoff games, and 23 total games leading up to the National Championship.
Here's a breakdown of the new format:
How The 24-Team Field Will Be Selected
The playoff field will consist of:
4 teams: The conference champions from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12.
1 team: The highest-ranked conference champion from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, or Sun Belt.
19 teams: The highest-ranked remaining teams in the CFP Selection Committee's final rankings.
How The Bracket Will Work
The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes and automatically advance to the second round.
Seeds 9–16 will host first-round games on campus against seeds 17–24.
The eight first-round winners will then advance to face seeds 1–8, with those second-round games also being played on campus.
That means 16 of the 23 playoff games will be played at campus sites, giving higher-seeded teams a significant home-field advantage.
Quarterfinals And Semifinals
The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at the six traditional College Football Playoff bowl sites:
- Cotton Bowl
- Fiesta Bowl
- Orange Bowl
- Peach Bowl
- Rose Bowl
- Sugar Bowl
National Championship Dates
The National Championship Game will remain at a predetermined neutral site.
2027 season: January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
2028 season: January 22, 2029, in Tampa Bay.
Television Coverage
ESPN will remain the exclusive worldwide media rights holder of the College Football Playoff through the 2031-32 season.
All 23 playoff games will air on ESPN and/or ABC, although ESPN will retain the right to sublicense select games to other networks.
Beginning with the 2027 season, ABC will broadcast at least three first-round games, three second-round games, one quarterfinal, one semifinal, and the National Championship Game.
Additional Changes
The expanded playoff will also bring several scheduling adjustments.
The Heisman Trophy ceremony weekend will move up one week, with the 2027 festivities scheduled for December 3–5.
The CFP also confirmed that no playoff games will be scheduled in conflict with the annual Army-Navy game.
Additionally, the CFP Management Committee has adopted scheduling standards intended to encourage teams to play more competitive nonconference opponents during the regular season.
The new 24-team format will debut following the 2027 college football regular season, with the first National Championship Game of the expanded era scheduled for January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
The new format will feature 24 teams, eight first-round byes, 16 on-campus playoff games, and 23 total games leading up to the National Championship.
Here's a breakdown of the new format:
How The 24-Team Field Will Be Selected
The playoff field will consist of:
4 teams: The conference champions from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12.
1 team: The highest-ranked conference champion from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, or Sun Belt.
19 teams: The highest-ranked remaining teams in the CFP Selection Committee's final rankings.
How The Bracket Will Work
The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes and automatically advance to the second round.
Seeds 9–16 will host first-round games on campus against seeds 17–24.
The eight first-round winners will then advance to face seeds 1–8, with those second-round games also being played on campus.
That means 16 of the 23 playoff games will be played at campus sites, giving higher-seeded teams a significant home-field advantage.
Quarterfinals And Semifinals
The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at the six traditional College Football Playoff bowl sites:
- Cotton Bowl
- Fiesta Bowl
- Orange Bowl
- Peach Bowl
- Rose Bowl
- Sugar Bowl
National Championship Dates
The National Championship Game will remain at a predetermined neutral site.
2027 season: January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
2028 season: January 22, 2029, in Tampa Bay.
Television Coverage
ESPN will remain the exclusive worldwide media rights holder of the College Football Playoff through the 2031-32 season.
All 23 playoff games will air on ESPN and/or ABC, although ESPN will retain the right to sublicense select games to other networks.
Beginning with the 2027 season, ABC will broadcast at least three first-round games, three second-round games, one quarterfinal, one semifinal, and the National Championship Game.
Additional Changes
The expanded playoff will also bring several scheduling adjustments.
The Heisman Trophy ceremony weekend will move up one week, with the 2027 festivities scheduled for December 3–5.
The CFP also confirmed that no playoff games will be scheduled in conflict with the annual Army-Navy game.
Additionally, the CFP Management Committee has adopted scheduling standards intended to encourage teams to play more competitive nonconference opponents during the regular season.
The new 24-team format will debut following the 2027 college football regular season, with the first National Championship Game of the expanded era scheduled for January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
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