The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) board has voted in favor of multiple major changes to the sport, the organization announced Tuesday. They include the idea of a potential 24-team College Football Playoff and the elimination of conference championship games.
Last week, the AFCA Board recommended a College Football Playoff that included “the maximum number of participants,” as Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported. The recommendation also included a discontinuation of conference title games and preservation of the Army–Navy Game’s exclusive window, with “flexibility” for other games to happen on that day.
In addition, the board recommended the College Football Playoff end by the second week of January. Last season’s national championship game took place Jan. 19, 2026, and next year’s is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027. The AFCA also proposed reducing the minimum number of days between games to no fewer than six.
“The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has identified the length of the college football season as a critical issue that needs to be addressed,” the AFCA said in a statement. “As we modernize our game to better serve student-athletes, we have fallen short in structuring a season that concludes in a timely and sustainable way.”
The 2026-27 season will be the third installment of the 12-team College Football Playoff after its debut in 2024-25. Last year saw the format move to a straight-seeding model rather than its initial form, which gave byes to the four highest-ranked conference champions. This season will also see more changes, including automatic bids for each of the Power Four leagues – the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC – and Notre Dame if the Irish are in the Top 12 of the final rankings.
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More on a potential 24-team CFP
Ahead of the third installment of a 12-team College Football Playoff, the idea of expansion continues to come up. While speaking exclusively with On3’s Chris Low, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said he was still 50/50 on the idea of a 24-team model, while Tennessee’s Josh Heupel said the expanded format “makes the most sense.”
The Big Ten circulated a proposed 24-team CFP last year and, in February, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported a document that detailed how a 24-team bracket would have looked last season. The field included a 23-plus-1 model, with the 23 best teams and one spot for the Group of 6, and the elimination of conference championship games.
There’s also support for a 24-team College Football Playoff in Washington, D.C. Yahoo! Sports reported the White House and a presidential committee formed by President Donald Trump are also in favor of the expanded bracket.
