CFP Expansion Talks Stall As Consensus Eludes Commissioners

A new College Football Playoff format appears no closer to arriving, as Football Bowl Subdivision conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director met Wednesday outside Chicago and emerged without any further consensus on the tournament’s future. 

As the Power 4 in particular remains at odds on how to allocate automatic bids in an enlarged format, CFP executive director Rich Clark said the event’s management committee is “comfortable” with staying at 12 teams for not only this year but 2026 as well.

“My sense in the room is the room is comfortable with that, if that’s where we go, and why they’re probably not too pressed with rushing into a decision,” Clark said. “If they can find time to have a discussion, and make a decision, they want to have that opportunity.”

CFP executives have a contractual requirement to let ESPN know by Dec. 1 if they want to expand the 2026 tournament beyond 12 teams. Getting widespread agreement on anything in the next two months, however, is likely not going to happen, as conference leaders continue to talk about a wide variety of potential formats, some as large as 28 teams. 

In the meantime, Clark said discussion on the next CFP structure will likely continue in “smaller group sessions,” and a working group focused on the issue will be formed involving athletic directors from each of the Power 4 conferences. 

“After that, they will bring [their work] back to the bigger group,” Clark said. 

The current, 12-team CFP format, which began last year, involves automatic qualifiers for the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids. Ongoing conference realignment and an additional concentration of power within the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC have significantly altered viewpoints on what the CFP’s future should be.