Report: Two commissioners call for new College Football Playoff to be 're-examined' after conference realignment

College football is going to look dramatically different in 2024. The Big Ten will be at 18 teams, the Big 12 will be at 16 teams and the Pac-12 — as it stands Friday night — will have just four teams after a wild round of conference realignment.

But there’s another big change coming in 2024: The College Football Playoff is set to expand to 12 teams with each Power Five conference getting an automatic bid. With all the movement, two commissioners suggested that format be re-examined, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

The current 12-team format has bids for the top six ranked conference champions — each Power Five league and a Group of Five league — and six at-large bids. Dellenger said one early suggestion is five automatic bids and at-large bids as soon as 2024 in the wake of the Pac-12’s apparent break-up. Of course, these discussions are still preliminary and no serious discussion has taken place.

One important factor in the conversation is the fact that the CFP’s TV deal with ESPN expires after 2025. That means there likely won’t be media issues after that season if officials decide to change things.

Dellenger’s report came out just a few hours after CFP executive director Bill Hancock told The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel it’s too early to tell how all the movement impacts things.

“It’s too soon to say,” Hancock said. “The CFP Management Committee and the Board will discuss the future format when it becomes appropriate.”

The 2023 season will mark the last of the four-team CFP which has been in place since 2014. Last year, College Football Playoff committee came to an agreement after working out the calendar and revenue distribution before finalizing a deal with the Rose Bowl, which wanted to keep is exclusive time slot on New Year’s Day.

Originally, the 12-team format was under discussion with the start of the 2026 season, when the initial College Football Playoff agreement with ESPN ended following the 2025 season.

“We’re delighted to be moving forward,” Hancock said at the time. “When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work. More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes.

“We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen.”