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The Group of 6 conferences face several critical questions amid the College Football Playoff’s expansion to 24 teams.
The highest-ranked G6 conference champion will earn an automatic CFP berth each year. And while the decision to double the playoff field does not guarantee multiple spots for non-power leagues, at least two non-power conference teams were ranked inside the top 24 of the final CFP rankings each season from 2021 to 2025.
- 2025: No. 20 Tulane (American); No. 24 James Madison (Sun Belt)
- 2024: No. 9 Boise State (Mountain West), No. 22 Army (American), No. 24 UNLV (Mountain West)
- 2023: No. 23 Liberty (Conference USA), No. 24 SMU (American)
- 2022: No. 16 Tulane (American), No. 24 Troy (Sun Belt)
- 2021: No. 4 Cincinnati (American), No. 20 Houston (American), No. 23 Louisiana (Sun Belt), No. 24 San Diego State (Mountain West)
The initial reaction from the G6 conferences has been mixed.
The American, Conference USA, and Sun Belt all released statements Monday mostly supporting the CFP’s expansion, but Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher questioned the necessity of the decision. “I believe we must ask an important question,” Steinbrecher said. “Does continued expansion truly strengthen college football as a whole?” Steinbrecher cited the significance of the regular season, rivalries, conference championships, and argued that a “larger playoff does not necessarily mean greater financial benefits for all conferences and institutions.”
The Pac-12 has not released an official statement on the CFP expanding, and the Mountain West was mostly coy in its statement, saying in part, “We will continue the analysis of this development with our member institutions and stakeholders, including consideration of the impacts on student-athletes, scheduling, the bowl ecosystem and the annual Mountain West football championship game.”
Future of Conference Championship Games
While the Power 4 conferences all announced they would no longer conduct conference championship games in the 24-team CFP era, none of the G6 leagues have decided whether they will follow suit.
The CFP has yet to announce when its Selection Sunday will be held in 2027 or beyond, but if it were to move up to the Sunday following the end of the regular season on the last Saturday of November, it would severely complicate any G6 conference holding a championship game during the first weekend of December, when those games have traditionally been played.
Bowl Games to Be Determined
Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill, in the conference’s statement on CFP expansion, said the league “remains committed to Bowl Season participation beyond the College Football Playoff and anticipates elevating and expanding its bowl lineup during the next open bowl cycle.” The Mountain West’s statement mentioned “the bowl ecosystem,” but no other G6 conference specifically spoke out on the future of college football bowl games.
The G6 conferences annually average around four concrete bowl game affiliations before alternate slots are available based on the number of Power 4 teams that can fill slots. Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli told Front Office Sports last year that bowl game operators would support facilitating a theoretical G6 playoff if those leagues wanted to create their own postseason tournament.
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