College Football Playoff makes major announcement regarding expansion

The College Football Playoff will likely expand at some point, but the current four-team format is not going to change anytime soon.

In a statement on Friday, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock announced that the format of the tournament will remain unchanged for at least four more years. The CFP’s 12-year contract with ESPN runs through 2025, and there will be no playoff expansion prior to that.

The outcome was expected, although many are disappointed with it. There has been talk for years about expanding the field to include more teams. The most popular idea seems to be a 12-team playoff that would feature automatic bids for the winners of the Power Five conferences. That may still happen, but it is now officially years away at minimum.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said last month that he and his conference are blocking College Football Playoff expansion. He outlined some compelling reasons for the decision. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have also blocked expansion for the time being, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made some wise cracks about the idea. It simply does not have enough support yet.