The US College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams from the 2027–28 season, with ESPN retaining exclusive worldwide media rights through 2031. The new format gives the top eight seeds a first-round bye and puts the opening two rounds on campus. Qualification combines conference champions with 19 at-large selections.
The College Football Playoff, which determines the US university football champion, is expanding to 24 teams for the 2027–28 season.[1], [2]
ESPN reached an agreement to remain its exclusive worldwide media rights holder through the 2031 season. The first championship final under the enlarged format is scheduled for 24 January 2028, retaining a date already on the calendar.[1]
19 teams enter through at-large selection. They join the champions of the four major conferences and the highest-ranked team from the other six conferences. Each major conference decides how to determine its champion. The eight highest seeds bypass the first round. The opening two rounds are held on the campus of the higher-seeded team, extending the use of university grounds into the expanded competition.[1]
The regular season is scheduled from the week before Labor Day through Thanksgiving weekend. Conference championship games end under the revised calendar. Army-Navy takes the weekend previously occupied by those fixtures, with a standalone window and a rest weekend for playoff teams. ESPN and the playoff entered a 30-day negotiating period on 9 September over the expanded field’s rights value; that window closed on 9 October.[1]
