The College Football Board has unanimously adopted the 12-team championship for the 2024 season.
CBS Sports reported that it will be a 5+7 format, meaning that there will be five automatic bids and seven at-large bids for the College Football Playoffs. The at-large teams are the ones with the highest rankings, The Athletic explained.
The top five conference champions will get a ticket to the postseason with the new plan, which will last for at least two seasons.
The CFP had to be adjusted after the Pac-12 all but collapsed, leaving four power conferences. Previously, it was a 6+6 format, with the top six conference champions punching their tickets.
Two schools — Washington State and Oregon State — still remain in the Pac-12, The Athletic reported.
It will be a two-team conference for the next two seasons, competing with the Mountain West conference, Fox News reported.
“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,” Mark Keenum, the Board of Managers’ chair, said, according to CBS Sports. “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.”
The CFP Management Committee approved the new model in November, but it had to be approved by the Board of Managers this week during its meeting in Texas.
The “Power Four” conferences are the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and the SEC.
The updated model will go into effect for the upcoming season.
The committee previously announced that Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the championship.