CFP expansion to 24 teams finds support from 2 more power conferences

As rumors swirl about the possibility of the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams, two more power conferences have joined the list of stakeholders who are on board.

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark both told On3's Brett McMurphy on Wednesday that their respective leagues support a 24-team CFP. The two conferences join the Big Ten and Notre Dame in supporting a 24-team playoff, while the SEC remains steadfast in its preference for a 16-team CFP, should the tournament expand from 12 teams.

“We like 24, we want 24,” Yormark said. “There are too many teams getting left out, and 24 teams provides the type of access that is warranted.  That being said, we need to do the work around the economics around a 24-team format and make sure we address any unintended consequences.”

Phillips concurred, pointing out what happened to Notre Dame last year, when Miami jumped the Fighting Irish for the final playoff at-large bid on Selection Sunday.

“Our desire with the coaches and the ADs is 24,” Phillips said. “When you’re leaving national championship-contending teams out of the playoff, you don’t have the right number. We lived through it, we suffered through it with Florida State, when the field was four.

“I know other schools have suffered for it. Notre Dame was a CFP-worthy team last year, and you saw what happened to the last team that got invited with Miami.”

Playoff expansion beyond 12 teams has been a topic of discussion since even the four-team CFP days. Those talks have only ramped up over the last week after the American Football Coaches Association came out in favor of a 24-team playoff.

The CFP will remain at 12 teams, at least for the 2026 season. The current CFP contract stipulates a deadline of Dec. 1 to make any changes to the format ahead of the 2027 season.

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