The College Football Playoff is doing away with preferential treatment for conference champions.
Beginning in 2025, the 12-team playoff will be determined solely by their final ranking, the CFP announced Thursday.
The CFP’s management committee, a group comprised of the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director, voted unanimously to make the changes.
While the new policy still calls for the five highest-ranked conference champions to earn a spot in the field, no longer will they be guaranteed 1-5 seeding.
Now, the field will be determined by ranking, with the top four seeds determined by the selection committee earning a first-round bye. If one of the five highest-ranked conference champions are outside the top 12, they’ll bump the lowest non-conference champion out.
“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team playoff, the CFP management committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a statement.
“This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”
In 2024, the first year of the 12-team field, Mountain West Conference champion Boise State and Big 12 Conference champ Arizona State both benefitted from the unbalanced seeding.
Boise State earned a No. 3 seed and first-round bye despite being ranked ninth in the final CFP poll, while ASU earned the No. 4 seed despite being ranked 12th. Both schools lost in their quarterfinal round game.
The new format would bump their seeding down and require them to play first-round games in 2025.
This year, the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 31), Orange Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl (Jan. 1) and Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1) are all set to host CFP quarter-final round games. The Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8) and Peach Bowl (Jan, 9) will host semi-final round games.
The national champion will be decided Jan. 19 in Miami.
