College Football Playoff to Expand From 12 to 24 Teams, Drawing Criticism

College football’s postseason is getting bigger again. The College Football Playoff announced this past week that it will expand from its current 12-team format to 24 teams, though an exact timeline for the change has not been set.

The move marks the latest step in a rapid series of expansions for the playoff system. The CFP began as a four-team format, grew to 12 teams, and will now nearly double again to 24.

The expansion has drawn pushback from commentators and fans who argue that a larger playoff field undercuts the significance of the regular season, long considered one of the most competitive stretches in American sports because so few losses could be absorbed by top contenders.

Critics have also questioned where the growth will stop. If 24 teams is deemed an improvement over 12, some ask, why not 32 — and what principle determines when expansion should end?

The playoff changes come alongside other major shifts reshaping the sport, including conference realignment and a transfer portal with few restrictions on player movement between schools. Taken together, critics say, these changes are pushing college football toward a structure that looks more like the NFL.

One argument made in favor of the 24-team field is that it would bring the percentage of teams qualifying for the postseason more in line with the NFL’s own postseason math. Opponents of expansion have rejected that comparison, arguing that fans who want an NFL-style product already have the NFL to watch.

Supporters of expansion, including some industry observers, have pointed to financial incentives as a driving factor behind the sport’s continued growth strategy. Critics counter that prioritizing revenue growth over the preferences of longtime fans could damage the sport over time.

Some critics have drawn a comparison to the NHL, which has also pursued strategies to broaden its audience in recent years. They argue that such efforts, while sometimes raising a sport’s visibility, don’t always sit well with its traditional fan base.

The debate over the CFP’s new 24-team format is likely to continue as the league finalizes details of when and how the expanded playoff will take effect.