The college football postseason had modest beginnings, driven by the desire to entice tourists from colder northern regions to bask in the sunny allure of certain destinations. It all began with an event known as the “Tournament East-West football game,” in 1901 which was used as a way to fund the Rose Parade in the small enclave of Pasadena, CA. This game is now known as the Rose Bowl of course, which led to the unique bowl system that lasted for decades. In this post we’ll explore this history and How the New 12 Team College Football Playoff Will Work.
Back to that first game in Pasadena, the powerhouse 1901 Michigan team, led by the legendary Coach Fielding Yost representing the East, took on Stanford University, representing the West. The outcome was never in doubt, with Michigan crushing Stanford in a 49-0 victory. The game was so one-sided that the Tournament of Roses officials decided to replace football with chariot races, ostrich races, and other events for the following thirteen years.
However, the Rose Bowl Football Game made a successful comeback on New Year’s Day in 1916 and has since become a beloved yearly tradition. Later on, the Sugar Bowl was established in 1935, followed by the Orange (1935) and Cotton Bowls (1937), along with many other bowl games. By the late 1980s, there were approximately 20 bowl games taking place.
These games signed contracts with the conferences all over the country and essentially were (and still are) independent entities that use their games as a way to bring tourism into their cities. As this system formed college football became the only sport in the United States without a playoff system to determine a champion. So sportswriters and coaches determined who the champion was after the season. After years of controversies and split champions the BCS was formed in 1998. This was meant to put the top 2 teams together, It worked with varying success and than in 2014 the college playoff started which was essentially a final four and that leads us to today.
Reasons for Expanding the Playoff
The new College Football Playoff, which will start in the 2024 season, is set to expand from 4 teams to 12 teams. Why is this happening? Well, primarily for financial reasons. The new playoff is projected to bring in around 500 million dollars in the last two years of the existing contract and even more in the years that follow.
The expansion of the college football playoff aims to revolutionize the sport by allowing more teams to compete for the national title. This change is expected to keep a strong national audience throughout the later months of the season. Roughly 20-25 teams will be in contention for a playoff spot and a chance at the national championship until November.
This expansion should create intense late-season games in all conferences, where not only playoff spots are at stake, but also home field advantage and bye weeks in the playoffs.
How the New 12 Team College Football Playoff Will Work
So how will this work? The new College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams for the 2024 season. Here are the details:
- Automatic Bids: The top 6 teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings will be seeded 1-6 and automatically qualify for the playoff. These teams will be the conference champions from the Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) and the highest-ranked independent or Group of Five conference champion. The four highest-ranked conference champions receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.
- At-large bids: The remaining 6 teams will be selected by a selection committee. The committee will consider a variety of factors, including conference championships, head-to-head results, strength of schedule, and other factors.
- First Round: The opening round of the playoffs features matchups between teams seeded No. 5 and No. 12, No. 6 and No. 11, No. 7 and No. 10, as well as No. 8 and No. 9. Instead of neutral sites, the first-round games take place at the home stadiums of the higher seeded teams (ex No. 12 at No 5) granting them the valuable advantage of playing on their own turf.
- Quarterfinals: The four teams that win in the first round will play against the top 4 teams who didn’t have to play in the first round. These games will be played at bowl game locations that are chosen in advance and change every year. The top 4 seeded teams will get to choose which designated bowl game they will play in and host the team with a lower seed.
- Semifinals: The 4 winners of the Quarterfinals will meet in pre selected Semifinal Games that rotate on a year basis.
- National Championship: The National Championship is a stand alone separate location from the bowl rotation and is bid on by cities and chosen in advance.
Playoff Bowl Rotation for the 2024 and 2025 Seasons
| Season | Quarterfinals | Playoff Semifinals |
| 2024 | Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) | Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) |
| Peach Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia) | Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida) | |
| Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) | ||
| Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana) | ||
| 2025 | Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) | Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) |
| Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida) | Peach Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia) | |
| Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) | ||
| Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
Future National Championship Game Locations
- 2024: NRG Stadium (Houston, TX)
- 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
- 2026: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, FL)
Imagining the Impact of a 12-Team College Football Playoff Since 1998
One last thing. If you look back to 1998, the year the BCS started, the following represents the approximate number of appearances each team would have had if a 12-team playoff system had been in place throughout.
Please note that there may be slight variations and I may be off one or two appearances for a couple teams but you can see the trends of who would of made it frequently and who wouldn’t. Some surprises in there. If there are any egregious errors post them in the comments.
| School | Playoff Appearances under 12 Team Format* |
|---|---|
| Ohio State | 19 |
| Oklahoma | 16 |
| Alabama | 14 |
| Florida | 12 |
| LSU | 11 |
| Georgia | 12 |
| Florida State | 10 |
| Oregon | 10 |
| USC | 10 |
| Notre Dame | 9 |
| Kansas State | 9 |
| Michigan | 9 |
| TCU | 8 |
| Wisconsin | 8 |
| Boise State | 8 |
| Clemson | 8 |
| Texas | 7 |
| Michigan State | 7 |
| Penn State | 8 |
| Miami | 6 |
| Auburn | 6 |
| Virginia Tech | 6 |
| Stanford | 6 |
| Tennessee | 6 |
| Nebraska | 4 |
| Baylor | 4 |
| Utah | 5 |
| Missouri | 4 |
| Iowa | 4 |
| Texas A&M | 3 |
| Cincinnati | 4 |
| Washington | 4 |
| Arkansas | 3 |
In addition, here is a great read from Sports Illustrated on how every 12 Team College Football playoff bracket would look going back to 2014.
Television Rights for the New 12 Team College Football Playoffs
ESPN has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the new College Football Playoff until the 2025-26 season. This is a carry over from the contract they signed for the current four team playoff which now ends at the end of the 2023 season.. Not only has the network already acquired the rights for the final two years of the current CFP contract, but it is also expected to maintain its hold on the rights for the upcoming 12-team playoff. With all 11 playoff games, including the highly anticipated national championship, set to be televised by ESPN, the network is poised to be the primary platform for college football fans.
While there have been rumors of potential bids from other networks like Fox or CBS, it is highly likely that ESPN will retain the rights by offering a substantial financial package, but the rights will go out to bid. And a variety of networks may get early round games similar to how the NFL playoffs work.
However given the anticipated popularity of the new playoff format, ESPN’s extensive infrastructure and resources make them the frontrunner for broadcasting the majority of these games. The upcoming 2024-25 College Football Playoff will serve as a significant test for ESPN, as the network will face the challenge of delivering impressive ratings while making substantial investments in production and marketing. Should ESPN achieve success in this venture, the new playoff has the potential to generate substantial revenue for the network in the years to come.
The expansion of the College Football Playoff to a 12-team format marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the sport. With the inclusion of more teams, the playoff becomes more inclusive and provides opportunities for a wider range of programs to compete for the national championship. The new format should also provide more meaningful games well into the final month of the season.
This expansion not only amplifies the excitement for fans across the nation but also opens doors for teams that may have previously been on the periphery of playoff contention. As the college football landscape continues to evolve, the 12-team playoff promises to bring new thrills, intense competition, and unforgettable moments to the forefront. And also probably an inevitable march to a 16 team format at some point. Anyway, this is a big step towards shaping a more exhilarating postseason that will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the history of college football.
For additional resources on How the New College Football Playoff will Work here is the official website.
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