"Historic" -- College Football Playoff to expand to 12-team format
ESPN.com
The College Football Playoff's board of managers unanimously voted Friday to expand the CFP to 12 teams in 2026 but is encouraging the sport's commissioners to try to implement it as soon as 2024.
In what was described as "an historic day for college football," the board's 11 presidents and chancellors approved the original 12-team model, which was first made public last summer and includes the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams, the board announced.
SNIP
The rankings of the teams will continue to be determined by the CFP selection committee, which will remain largely unchanged.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four with each receiving a first-round bye. Teams seeded five through 12 will play each other in the first round on either the second or third weekend of December. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in bowl games on a rotating basis, and the championship game will be at a neutral site, as under the current four-team format.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34509443/board-managers-decide-12-team-college-football-playoff-sources-say
According to the link, the major holdup had been specific objections from the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12. But ... with realignment this summer with USC and UCLA committing to the Big Ten and one historically HUGE television deal, the issues began to fade.
Ah, yes ... the money! There's a ton on the table. Networks and streaming services will be fighting over rights. This should be fun (or disgusting, depending on your point-of-view).
