College Football Championship Playoffs Expanded, But “When” Is Still Pending

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College football’s championship series is expanding from six to 12 teams, embracing the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams.The College Football Playoff’s 11-person board of managers unanimously voted Friday for the inflation to take hold in 2026.

But it is also encouraging the sport’s commissioners to get on board as soon as 2024.“There are still quite a few issues that have to be resolved — some very obvious logistical issues that have to be resolved — but our hope is that we can get [the commissioners] to move on this as quickly as it is possible to do so,” said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP’s board of managers. “We have asked our commissioners, the management committee, to explore the possibility of us beginning the 12-team playoff format before the 2026 season, in either 2024 or 2025.”The expanded playoffs are sure to be a ratings boost for the outlets carrying the games.

This year’s Georgia-Alabama national championship game drew 22.6 million viewers across ESPN’s various broadcasts. That total made it the biggest event on cable TV since the LSU-Clemson title game in 2020.Still, the game was the second-lowest total for a title game since the CFP title structure was implemented for the 2014-2015 season.

The Alabama-Georgia title game in 2018, for example, was watched by 28.44 million viewers. The top CFP draw was the first one, Ohio State-Oregon, which was watched by 34.6 million.ESPN reported that 29% of people and 38% of adults 18-49 watching television Monday were tuned in to the game.