College Football Playoff Expanding to 12 Teams in 2024
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PITTSBURGH -- The wait is over. After years of deliberations, the College Football Playoff Committee announced they would be expanding the field of teams from four to 12 for the 2024-25 season and give more teams a shot at contending for the sport's ultimate prize.
The committee recently cleared their final hurdle - getting the Rose Bowl to amend it's contract with the College Football Playoff - opening the door for this change. Schools and conferences are expected to gain an added $450 million in gross revenue, according to the Associated Press.
"We're delighted to be moving forward," Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, Bill Hancock said. "When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work. More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes. We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen."
The first round of the new playoff will take place on December 21, 2024 at either the home field of or a neutral site designated by the higher-seeded team. In the first round, No. 5 will host No. 12, No. 6 hosts No. 11, No. 7 hosts No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9.
The quarterfinal and semifinal games will take place at bowls determined on a rotating basis. The inaugural quarterfinals will be held at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl and the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl host the semifinal games. In 2025, the Fiesta and Peach will host the semifinals while the rest of the New Year's Six games receive quarterfinal designation.
The national championship games will be played on January 20, 2025, in Atlanta, and January 19, 2026, in Miami.
As the No. 12 seed in last year's final CFP rankings, the Pitt Panthers would have narrowly made an expanded field if it had been used during the 2021-22 season. They would have been slated for a visit to South Bend, Indiana for a date with then-No. 5 Notre Dame.
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