College Football

CFP confirms new 12-team playoff format, approving 5+7 model

Published Feb. 20, 2024 12:41 p.m. ET

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The setup for the new 12-team College Football Playoff format is finally official. 

The format for the new CFP will consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions and the seven highest-ranked teams outside of the initial group, the CFP's board of managers announced Tuesday. The decision to make the 12-team playoff a 5+7 format was unanimously approved with the vote being held by the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame's president, Rev. John Jenkins, in a virtual meeting earlier in the day. 

There was an expectation for a while that the CFP's board of managers would implement the 5+7 model for the 12-team playoff. However, the Pac-12 continued to delay the vote on the format as Oregon State and Washington State tried to figure out their futures. The two Pacific Northwest schools were the last two teams remaining in the Pac-12 after the 10 other schools announced their intentions to join different conferences, which will also come into effect in 2024. 

Prior to the Pac-12's shakeup last summer, the expectation was that the 12-team playoff would be a 6+6 format, with the six highest-ranked conference champions and the six highest-ranked teams outside of that group making the playoff. As the two remaining Pac-12 schools agreed to a scheduling alliance with the Mountain West for 2024, neither Oregon State nor Washington State can receive an automatic qualifying bid to the CFP in the next two seasons. 

"This is a very logical adjustment for the College Football Playoff based on the evolution of our conference structures since the board first adopted this new format in September 2022," CFP Board of Managers chair and Mississippi State president Mark Keenum said in a statement. "I know this change will also be well received by student-athletes, coaches and fans. We all will be pleased to see this new format come to life on the field this postseason."

With the setup, it will likely ensure that the other four Power 5 conferences will get an automatic bid to the CFP with the best Group of 5 conference champion getting the other automatic bid.

While there are other details that need to be hashed out, the format is fully in place. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a first-round bye. The first-round games (No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed, No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed, No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed, No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed) will be held at stadiums of the higher-seeded team. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at the New Year's Six bowl games while the title game will be played at a neutral location.

The coming season will be the first with a 12-team playoff after 10 years of it being a four-team event.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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