Radical Postseason Changes Proposed For College Football

College Football may be doing away with conference tie-ins for the non-CFP bowl games. 2026/2027 may be the last time the existing tie-in traditions will be honored, with changes coming for the 2027/2028 postseason.

Per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, "The leaders of the power conferences have been exploring proposals to dramatically change the financial structure and selection process of the non-CFP bowl games — at least those tied to the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Big Ten.

"In one proposal shared with high-level administrators, a consortium of 10 bowl games — each pitting power conference programs — would be created and potentially sold on the open market, with its television rights controlled by the conferences themselves instead of the bowls. Presumably, these games will be played in existing bowls, but their participants would vary as the bowl system untethers from its traditional conference affiliations."

Elevating existing non-CFP bowl games played in major cities, like San Antonio, Texas's Alamo Bowl, and Orlando, Florida's Citrus Bowl, would open up potential invitations for teams from all Power 4 conferences. Obviously, eight other bowl games would get the same treatment.

More Power Conference Matchups is a Good Thing

If there's a guaranteed number of Power 4 matchups that'd be added to the postseason slate, that'd be a good thing. Especially if teams with opt-outs will be punished by not getting any invites to what should be a lucrative extra game.

If TV networks are going to send in big-money bids, programs will actually want to fully compete in these otherwise juiceless postseason games. The 2025 Alamo Bowl was robbed of a truly fair matchup because the USC Trojans had so many opt-outs against the TCU Horned Frogs.

The 2025 Citrus Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines had those issues on both sides, and that's without even getting into major issues behind the scenes with Sherrone Moore on the Maize and Blue side.

Extra payouts need to happen here to get these players to participate and risk injury. If these games are going to the highest bidder, then they most certainly would be a financial investment attached to them.

You could bet that popular sponsors like Pop-Tarts and Cheez-It will be back, regardless of the direction this consortium goes. Eating the Pop-Tarts Bowl's live mascot and the esteemed presence of Prince Cheddward at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl probably aren't going anywhere as traditions.

Giving them increased exposure, with more important matchups that would more likely feature future NFL talent, is a win for the average College Football viewer.

It's unclear if the sport will move in this direction, and what Cody Campbell and his "Saving College Sports" movement think of it.

We'll assuredly find out sooner rather than later.