College Football Playoff to expand to 12 teams

After years of speculation and requests by fans to expand the College Football Playoff, the wait may soon be over. 

The College Football Playoff's Board of Managers voted unanimously to expand the current playoff system to 12 teams. 

The Board of Managers said in the press release that will attempt to begin the new format by the start of 2026 season, though it will search for ways to begin the expansion in 2024 or 2025.

The news about the expansion was first reported by multiple new outlets earlier on Friday including CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. 

The new format for the College Football Playoff will include the six highest-ranked conference champions, and the next six highest-ranked teams in the country. 

"This is an historic and exciting day for college football," Mark Keenum, the President of Mississippi State and the chairman of the CFP Board of Managers said in the press release. "More teams, more participation and more excitement are good for our fans, alumni, and student-athletes. I'm grateful to my colleagues on the board for their thoughtful approach to this issue and for their resolve to get expansion across the goal line and for the extensive work of the Management Committee that made this decision possible."  

Currently, the top four ranked teams in the country by the end of the season are the frontrunners to get into the two-round playoff. 

The four teams are usually cemented after the conference championships by the playoff committee. 

The last four of five national championships have been won by SEC teams. 

It's safe to say that the CFP Board of Managers' goal is to include more teams from other conferences like the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. 

Neither USC or UCLA have gotten close to being considered for the CFP since its inception 2014. 

With both schools heading to the Big Ten in 2024, their resume for consideration will certainly be fortified by the competition. 

The only Pac-12 schools to make the CFP thus far are the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies. However not one has managed to earn a trip into the playoff since the 2016-17 season.

Trojans fans certainly hope that new head football coach Lincoln Riley will be able to get the program in contention for the CFP. He went 55-10 in five seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, leading the program to three CFP appearances. 

USC fans certainly expect Riley to have similar success in Southern California. 

As does the Pac-12 before the Trojans and Bruins leave the conference. The Pac-12 released this statement in regards to the news about the expansion: 

"The Pac-12 is strongly in favor of CFP expansion and welcomes the decision of the CFP Board.  CFP expansion will provide increased access and excitement and is the right thing for our student-athletes and fans. We look forward to working with our fellow conferences to finalize the important elements of an expanded CFP in order to launch as soon practicable."

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