Could the College Football Playoff Be About to Change Forever? Inside the Growing Support for Expansion

Just when you thought the College Football Playoff drama couldn’t get any juicier, here comes the buzz about a 16-team playoff heating up the conversation faster than a fourth-quarter Hail Mary. The 12-team setup crushed it in ratings during its first season—fans were glued to their screens, and organizers? Well, they’re practically drooling over the prospects of expanding the party. But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just about more games—it’s about a playoff landscape dominated by the SEC and Big Ten, carving out guaranteed spots like royalty divvying up their kingdom. The question is, does cramming the field with conference bids bring us closer to crowning the “best of the best,” or is this just a power play disguised as progress? Add in possible play-in games and a shifting SEC schedule, and you’ve got a recipe stirring equal parts excitement and eye-rolls among fans. Will this move revolutionize college football or further alienate purists craving meritocracy over conference clout? Buckle up, because the next few months might just reshape what we think we know about “March Madness” in the fall. LEARN MORE.

The overwhelming success of the 12-team College Football Playoff format in its first year (in terms of ratings at least) has the organizers salivating at the chance to make it even bigger.

According to college football insider Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, support for a 16-team College Football Playoff is already gaining momentum. 

Under the new format, there would be four bids to the Southeastern Conference, four bids to the Big Ten Conference, two to the ACC, two to the Big 12, one to the top Group of Six champion and three at-large bids. The format might even have play-in games for the Big Ten and SEC.

“There is growing B1G-SEC support for a 16-team bracket, most notably a… 4 (SEC) 4 (B1G) 2 (ACC) 2 (B12) 1 (G6) 3 (at large) …with season-ending inner-league play-in games (3rd place v 6th; 4th vs 5th), as @YahooSports reported in February,” Dellenger wrote yesterday.

The four power conference commissioners held an in-person meeting in New York on Thursday to discuss several issues, including a future playoff format, sources tell @YahooSports. Big Ten & SEC – they control future format – continue to favor multiple AQs for their conferences.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 8, 2025

Dellenger said that a decision could be coming as soon as the next couple of months. He noted that the SEC’s impending decision to switch to a nine-game conference schedule could hinge on an expanded College Football Playoff format that sees more of their teams invited.

“A decision is expected over the next month or two. The Big Ten and SEC hold their springs meetings later this month, where the SEC is expected to seriously explore a 9-game conference schedule – a move contingent on a CFP format and negotiations with ESPN for more revenue.”

Under the current format, there are only five guaranteed spots in the tournament, only one of which belongs to an SEC team. This change would make it clear that the pecking order of college football lies with the SEC and Big Ten, with the ACC and Big 12 getting fewer but still a significant number of teams in the tournament.

College football fans aren’t entirely thrilled by the idea. While most are attributing the change to obvious greed, others feel that the SEC and Big Ten have gone too far and should probably just be cut off from the herd.

“Really dumb for the SEC and Big Ten trying to force this. How is it playoff if we’re inviting teams based strictly on their conference affiliation? Haven’t Sankey and Petitti read the room? America wants teams that earned it, not because of being in a particular conference,” one user on X replied to Dellenger.

“Let the SEC & BIG 10 go it alone. Let them find out that the public will not put up with that kind of arrogance. I hope they do it,” wrote another.

How soon will we get a 16-team playoff?

Related: Report: New College Football Playoff Model Would Guarantee Big Ten, SEC 6 Teams