The College Football Playoff is adopting a 12-team format in 2024, and the group’s Board of Managers confirmed that the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot each year.
The remaining seven spots in the playoff will be awarded at-large, based on the rankings. The 5-and-7 split ensures at least one Group of Five team reaches the tournament as the Pac-12 approaches dissolution. This is an adjustment from the proposed 6-and-6 split, but the vote passed unanimously.
“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,” Mississippi State President and Board of Managers chair Mark Keenum said.
The four-highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye. Teams seeded five through 12 will play each other in the first round on the home field of the higher-ranked team. (The team ranked No. 5 will host No. 12; team No. 6 will meet team No. 11; team No. 7 will play team No. 10; and team No. 8 will meet No. 9.)
The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in the New Year’s Six bowl games, the national championship game will continue to be at a neutral site. No conference will qualify automatically and there will be no limit on the number of participants from a conference.
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