The College Football Playoff is expanding to a 24-team format beginning with the 2027-2028 season, the CFP confirmed Monday, moving forward despite what its own executive director acknowledged is widespread fan opposition.
The playoff field has grown rapidly in just a few years. It stood at four teams as recently as 2023, expanded to 12 teams for 2024-2025, and will now nearly double again to 24 for 2027-2028. The upcoming 2026-2027 season will be only the third played under the 12-team format before the next expansion takes effect.
Asked directly during a news conference about fan reaction, CFP Executive Director Rich Clark acknowledged that many fans oppose the move but said the decision was made anyway.
“We’re aware of the fan sentiment and that many fans aren’t in favor of expansion,” Clark said. “That was certainly weighed into the decision. It was considered. Ultimately we just need to make a spectacular Playoff. I mean, the CFP has a responsibility to our fans, they’re the lifeblood of college football. We owe it to them to make this great. That really is our intent. We appreciate our fans. We did take into account their sentiment. That was rolled into this decision. But we decided to move forward with it.”
Clark said the expansion will bring benefits to the sport and its “stakeholders.”
“New scheduling standards will incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season, and 16 Playoff games will now be played on campuses, bringing Playoff football to more students and local fans,” Clark said. “Finally, our commitment as the CFP administration and staff, we will make the 24-team Playoff spectacular for the fans, for the student-athletes, for the institutions, and for all our stakeholders.”
Clark added that the committee will evaluate and encourage strong scheduling, and that teams will be required to play 10 games against Power 4 conference opponents.
The expansion follows a push led by the Big Ten, with other conferences eventually falling in line. The SEC, long a holdout, ultimately agreed to the change.
Critics argue the larger field threatens to undercut the regular season’s significance, since three or even four losses may no longer eliminate a team from playoff contention. They also warn that major conference championship games and traditional bowl games could lose much of their meaning as the playoff absorbs more of the postseason spotlight.
Surveys have shown fans largely oppose further expansion, a point Clark himself conceded during the news conference. The decision nonetheless moves the sport toward a format more than six times larger than the four-team playoff that existed just four seasons ago.
