Are 12 Team College Football Playoffs The Future Of The Sport?

• College football could be seeing a playoff schedule that jumps from a four-team format to a 12-team format as early as 2023.
• The CFP management committee has cooked up this new structure over a two-year time span and will now present it to the authority figures presiding over college football this week.
• A larger college football playoff schedule could lead to bigger profits for both the sport and sportsbooks.

CHICAGO – There is a 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) format that has been two years in the making finally pushing its way forward in the process of becoming a reality. The CFP’s management committee agreed upon a structure for the new plan on Friday and will go to Dallas on Tuesday to present it to those in charge of such changes.

“It’s an information process,”  said Bob Bowlsby, the Big 12 Commissioner. “Four of us were at one place. Now I think we have 11 of us at that place. Now we move to talk to the presidents and see if we can get them in that place.”

What Is The Committee Pitching?

At the present time, College Football Playoffs are made up using a four-team-styled bracket. This new plan triples that number, extending the amount of playing time as well as how much college football betting could take place.

Of the 12 teams, six of them would be the top teams in each conference based on rankings. The remaining six spots would be based on committee rankings.

During the beginning of the CFP, schools would play at their home stadiums, saving quarterfinal and semifinal round games for bowl games.

“This is an enormous undertaking with dozens and dozens of moving parts and it’s not going to be a rapid process,” said Bowlsby. “It is going to be at least this fall before we have the necessary conversations and possess the necessary information to make informed decisions.”

The 11 members with the final say on any expansions of the sport will not only be hearing the plan this week but will also be going over all of the changes it would incur through this restructuring.

One big change could be a possible financial hit, especially when it comes to bowl games as they might not be able to be played in the same manner as they have been for years. Bowl games bring in a lot of money for the town in which they’re played, the teams, and sportsbooks.

Upcoming Discussions

Plenty of discussions will be had on this potential expansion to the CFP format. There are no locks for who could end up in the playoffs based on the current draft of rules. Regulated sports betting would surely be in favor of more games because that would make their business boom even more during the biggest betting time of the year.

Should the meeting in Dallas go well, this new CFP format could be implemented as early as 2023 or as late as 2026, as the current contract goes through 2025, but it’s likely it would happen sooner rather than later.

“The good news is that everyone who’s on this conference committee supports expansion,” said George Kliavkoff, the incoming Pac-12 commissioner. “So, we’re all aligned on that. The great news for me coming into this for the first time is that the starting point for everyone’s discussions is what’s best for the student-athletes and what’s best for the game.”

News tags: Big 12 | Bob Bowlsby | CFP | College Football | College Football Playoffs | George Kliavkoff | NCAA | Pac 12