Matt Johnson
College football teams and programs hoping for playoff expansion will have to wait even longer for the format to expand past four teams. After prolonged discussion, playoff expansion is off the table for several years.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports the College Football Playoff is expected to announce Friday that it will continue with the four-team format for the remainder of its current contract.
The decision doesn’t come as a huge surprise. While there is growing support for expansion, 10 FBS commissions and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick determined a unanimous agreement couldn’t be reached on playoffs expansion.
As a result, CFP executive director Bill Hancock informed ESPN that the current four-team playoff format will remain in place through the 2025 season. The decision received full support from the CFP’s board of managers.
While playoff expansion isn’t in the immediate future, there is still a belief that the committee is open to the idea in the future.
“I know because I’ve heard the management committee and the board talk about it that they would all like to see the CFP expand, but for Years 11 and 12 there were just several things that stood in the way. Not just one thing, but several.”
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock to ESPN
Related: 12-team expansion would generate staggering revenue for college football
Considering what is at stake for all parties involved, it would be surprising if the next playoff contract includes an expanded field. By that time, TV rights to each of the games will be worth even more and networks will bid billions of dollars in a frenzy for CFP games.
For now, football fans will be stuck with the normalcy of Georgia, Alabama and at least one Big Ten team taking three of the four yearly playoff spots.
