College Football Playoff field will remain at 12 teams in 2026, per reports
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The College Football Playoff is going to remain at 12 teams for the 2026 college football season, according to reports on Friday, Jan. 23.
A formal announcement on the decision to remain at a 12-team field is expected later in the day. The news comes on the heels of all the major conferences wanting to expand the playoff field, again. The 12-team field started in 2024 and will enter Year 3 with the 2026 season.
As widely expected, the College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams for 2026. A formal announcement is set for later today, per ESPN sources. pic.twitter.com/c8JC1VQiI1
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 23, 2026
The Big Ten wants to expand the playoff to 24 teams, while the SEC and other conferences are in favor of a 16-team field.
According to On3, the CFP management committee met before the College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami on Monday, Jan. 19. Friday, Jan. 23 marked the extended deadline expansion for the 2026 season for the CFP.
While the field won’t expand for the 2026 season, the auto bids for each of the Power 4 champions, regardless of ranking, will still be in effect. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is guaranteed an at-large bid if it is ranked in the top 12 of the final CFP poll.
According to CFP director Rich Clark, the deadline for the 2027 season will be Dec. 1, 2026.
“We’re only in Year 2 of our 12-team format, so I reminded my colleagues that from when we had the very first notion of going beyond just a four-team playoff to actually having a 12-team playoff, it took five years,” CFP Board chair and Mississippi State president Mark Keenum said earlier this week in Miami. “… The fact that we’re having conversations is a good thing, but there are a lot of things to weigh in on this. All the presidents of all the conferences are speaking through their commissioners, and they’re negotiating this. So we’ll see where it plays out.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football Playoff field to remain at 12 teams in 2026
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