CFP 12-Team Playoff: Structure & Schedule

**College Football Playoff Expands to 12 Teams, Kicking Off Landmark 2024 Season**

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is officially ushering in a new era for the sport, expanding its format to a 12-team postseason tournament starting with the upcoming 2024 season. This significant overhaul replaces the long-standing four-team model, promising increased access, more high-stakes matchups, and a dramatic redefinition of the championship landscape.

Under the new structure, qualification will be determined by a blend of conference championships and national rankings. The top five conference champions, as ranked by the CFP Selection Committee, will automatically secure berths. The remaining seven spots will be filled by the highest-ranked teams not already qualified. A major incentive for top performance, the top four seeds will receive a crucial first-round bye, advancing directly to the quarterfinals.

The expanded playoff will feature its inaugural first-round games on Friday, December 20th, and Saturday, December 21st, 2024. These eight matchups, featuring seeds 5 through 12, will be played at campus sites or other non-bowl venues, providing a unique home-field atmosphere for contending teams.

Following the initial round, the tournament transitions to traditional bowl game settings for the quarterfinals and semifinals. For the 2024-25 season, the quarterfinals are strategically scheduled around the New Year’s holiday. The Fiesta Bowl will host a quarterfinal on December 31st, 2024, followed by the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl all on January 1st, 2025. Semifinal contests are slated for January 9th, 2025, with the Orange Bowl, and January 10th, 2025, with the Cotton Bowl. The culmination of the season, the National Championship game, is set for Monday, January 20th, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, the playoff structure remains consistent, with a similar schedule and different bowl assignments for the semifinal rounds. Selection Sunday for that season will be December 7th, 2025. First-round games will again take place at campus sites on December 19th and 20th, 2025. Quarterfinals are scheduled for December 31st, 2025 (Cotton Bowl), and January 1st, 2026 (Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl). Semifinals will be held on January 8th, 2026 (Fiesta Bowl) and January 9th, 2026 (Peach Bowl). The National Championship for the 2025-26 season will be contested on Monday, January 19th, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The journey to a 12-team format has been a topic of extensive debate and planning within college athletics for years. The four-team College Football Playoff, which began with the 2014-15 season, itself replaced the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), representing a gradual evolution toward a more definitive championship tournament. The decision to expand was officially approved by the CFP Board of Managers, comprised of university presidents and chancellors, in September 2022, with an initial target implementation of the 2026 season. However, agreements were reached to accelerate the expansion to 2024, driven in part by the expiration of the current CFP contract and the pursuit of new media rights deals.

Proponents of the expansion highlight several key benefits. It dramatically increases the number of teams with a legitimate shot at the national title, rewarding more programs for strong regular seasons and reducing the subjectivity that often surrounded the four-team selection process. The inclusion of the top five conference champions is particularly impactful amid recent conference realignments, ensuring that champions from various leagues have a direct path to the postseason. This also creates a richer financial landscape, with the expanded format expected to generate significantly more revenue for participating conferences and institutions through enhanced media rights.

While the new format promises heightened excitement and a more inclusive pathway to the championship, it also introduces challenges, including a longer season for student-athletes and potential scheduling complexities. Despite these considerations, the overwhelming sentiment across college football is one of anticipation for a new chapter. With more teams vying for glory and high-stakes games beginning in December, the 12-team College Football Playoff is poised to redefine the sport’s postseason and deliver an unprecedented level of competition.