CFP officer: Format choices on hold until 2025

• Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior WriterJul 17, 2024, 08:12 PM ET

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  • College football press reporter
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of Indiana University

DALLAS– Leaders of the College Football Playoff will not make any decisions about what the sport’s postseason format will appear like in 2026 and beyond till after a national champion has actually been crowned in the inaugural season of a 12-team field, executive director Rich Clark informed ESPN on Wednesday.The playoff will broaden from 4 to 12 teams for each of the next two seasons, with the 5 highest-ranked conference champions signing up with the next 7 highest-ranked teams in the field. The present, 12-year CFP agreement expires following the 2025 season.In March, the CFP and ESPN accepted a brand-new six-year,$7.8 billion

agreement that ensures the network will stay the sole media rights holder of the playoff through the 2031-32 season. The playoff format for that new agreement, though, doubts beyond the warranty it will continue to be at least a 12-team field.Editor’s Picks 2 Related “We’re going to wait till after the season, after the playoff, the champ game in reality, “said Clark

, who was at SEC media days after replacing

retired executive director Costs Hancock in June.The CFP’s management committee, which is comprised of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, will fulfill in-person in September, once again at its annual conference at the national championship game in January and during its annual spring meeting in April. “In the January [conference], we’re going to begin talking about things in earnest,”Clark said.”Then hopefully we get things on the table, we have actually had an opportunity to look at them, and in the April one we

need to begin making choices, if there’s anything to choose. “Clark, who retired from his post as the superintendent of the Air Force Academy on May 31, said the CFP is willing to make modifications if needed after viewing the new format unfold this fall.” In the military, you plan, you carry out, you step back after execution, you debrief, and then you go once again,” he said.”That’s how you improve. But each time you go, you have to go full-in. You can’t enter into it believing,’ Oh, this is just a trial run. ‘No it’s not a test run. This is the run.”This is years we’re going to be doing this. We have to have the long game in mind on this and truly be all set to change and make ourselves better over the years.”SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who belonged to the group that made up the initial

12-team model initially revealed in June 2021, informed ESPN he was in favor of having some perseverance before making any significant choices. “I was part of the work on 12, I believe it was well-reasoned, and I do

n’t think you simply leap to 14 [groups in the playoff], point one”Sankey stated.” Point 2, if we’re going to go through 12, aren’t we much better off seeing how that works, who’s included, who’s not involved and then decide? For us, in your area, I believe we benefit for our scheduling choices to see a single-division, 16-team league play, how the playoff makes choices and then we’ll return to our ’26 schedule and beyond. Using as lots of information points– which is a COVID lesson– by utilizing time is actually knowledgeable.” The focus of the CFP has been performing this year’s extreme modification as flawlessly as possible. Clark said his concentration has actually been on the first-round games, which will happen on the school of the greater seed.He said the CFP has actually talked with all 134 FBS teams to make sure “they’re prepared to do this if it comes

.”” I wish to see the first round go without a drawback,”he said.”I think we’re on an excellent course for that to take place, but helping those groups– the teams that get picked 5-8– that they have that spectacular home game and it’s excellent, no issues and they’re able to advance their team to the next round. … That’s the one piece that we

haven’t done before.”