2026 college playoffs will remain at twelve teams

INDIANAPOLIS - The College Football Playoff will remain limited to just 12 teams in 2026. The deadline for establishing a new format was December 1; but had been extended several times with no compromise ever reached. Since the parties involved could not agree on a new format for the 2026 season the format will stay the same as in 2024 and 2025.

The CFP Management Committee opted to preserve the current structure, citing the need for further evaluation and consensus.

The CFP Management Committee announced on Friday, January 23 that they had not reached a decision so would keep the existing format for this year. Talks are ongoing as far as the future of the playoffs for 2027 an beyond, but the twleve team format will remain in place.

One thing that will be different this year is Notre Dame. Last year the 13th team was Notre Dame. Miami – who had the same record as Notre Dame but had lost to Miami – was left out of the playoffs in favor of Miami and Alabama. Notre Dame officials were enraged by the snub – even though Notre Dame had lost to both of the field of twelve teams they played and did not win a conference championship. Had they played in the Big 12, Conference USA, new PAC 10, or the American Athletic Conference they likely would have won it and thus been one of the five best conference championships who get an automatic bid to the tournament. After the snub, the CFP committee have reached a memorandum of understanding that Notre Dame will get an automatic bid into the field of twelve and time the Committee ranks Notre Dame as one of the top ten teams in the country.

The current rule that the top five conference champions will get in the tournament remains in place. This is meant to guarantee that the best group of six champion will be able to play for the national championship. Last year it led to James Madison University and Tulane getting in the playoffs because Duke (with a 7 and 5 record) beat Virginia in the ACC tournament. Miami – the best ACC team – wasn't even in the championship game because of the arcane tie breakers the ACC uses. The ACC has changed those rules of 2026. Both Tulane and JMU were blown out in their opening games leading to sports media celebrities including Paul Finebaum and (former Alabama Coach) Nick Saban to call for their removal. The CFP left in the automatic group of six spot for 2026.

Outside of the special Notre Dame MOA there are no changes for 2026. Thedecision comes after months of negotiations between conference leaders failed to produce an agreement on expanding the field to either 16 or 24 teams.

The 12-team format, introduced in 2024, was designed to increase access to the postseason and reduce the dominance of a small group of perennial powerhouses (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State).

In just two seasons, it has delivered dramatic matchups, surprise champions, and broader representation across conferences. But as fielding a competitive college football teams keeps getting more and more expensive due to ballooning coaching staffs and contracts, paying players five to ten times what university professors make, and ever more elaborate weight rooms and athletics department offices; the thirst for more and more revenue streams in unquenchable.

This has led to intense pressure to expand the playoffs.

The decision – due to the way the voting strengths of the conferences were weighted – came down to the Big Ten and the SEC.

The Big Ten pushed for a 24-team model, while the SEC – seeking to protect the meaningfulness of the regular season - favored a more limited 16-team format.

Negotiations broke down over long-term guarantees and control of future playoff structures. According to sources, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was unwilling to commit to a 24-team field after three years, a condition Big Ten leaders insisted upon.

"After ongoing discussion about the 12-team playoff format, the decision was made to continue with the current structure," said CFP Executive Director Rich Clark. "This will give the Management Committee additional time to review the format and assess the need for potential change."

A 16 team field in 2025 would have had the twelve 2025 participants (Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, James Madison, Tulane, Miami, and Alabama) plus likely Notre Dame, Texas, Vanderbilt, and BYU. Going to 24 would likely have added Michigan, USC, Houston, Iowa, Virginia, Arizona, Utah, and Georgia Tech with North Texas and Kansas State as the two teams just outside of the field.

The CFP has until December 2 to reach a deal on what the 2027.

To comment or ask a question email brandonmreporter@gmail.com