What to get out of college football in 2024: Realignment, a

• Heather Dinich, ESPN Elder WriterJan 19, 2024, 08:00 AM ET Close College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007
• Graduate of Indiana University

The minute after Michigan was presented the national championship prize in Houston, the college football season– and its accompanying predictions– turned to 2024.

If ever there was a Y2K year in college football, this was it– however the lights didn’t head out in NRG Stadium and the sport started its journey into extraordinary change that consists of sweeping conference realignment and a 12-team playoff that will once again alter how the champ is crowned.Ready or not, here it

comes.” The modification is real,”SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said.”You can either run from it and hide, or you can accept it.” From a sideline without retired Alabama coaching legend Nick Saban to an Atlantic Coast Conference that consists of Pacific Coast groups, college football will look vastly various this fall– even to those immersed in it for a living. The new, broadened playoff will start before Christmas– and end on Jan. 20, 2025, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.”It’s a big year, “Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said.

“This is a fascinating development of the playoff. It’s no little thing. “Here’s a description of all of the huge things fans can anticipate to

see changing this fall.Jump to a topic: Conference realignment 12-team CFP schedule Other bowls Conference title games Life without Saban Who governs the sport
? Who’s in what conference?

Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY NETWORK Let’s start with the essentials, due to the fact that even that’s absolutely nothing you have actually ever seen before.Beginning with the 2024 season, the Big 10 will be the biggest conference in the nation

with 18 teams, and the ACC– with the additions of SMU, Cal and Stanford– will follow with 17 teams. The SEC and Big 12 will each have 16 teams.The Pac-12? Well, it’s down to Oregon State and Washington State, which will have a scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West Conference.The SEC will include: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.The Big 12 will consist of: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia.The Big Ten will consist of: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington.The ACC will consist of: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.None of them will have divisions, so the top 2 groups in each league will deal with fulfill in their

respective championship game games. Retiring American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco stated he thinks that despite the fact that more history and rivalries will vanish, the love for the sport will remain.” People delight in watching games,”Aresco said.” If USC is playing Ohio State, are individuals going to say,’ Yeah, it’s a Big Ten game now, I have no

interest.’I do not think so. This sport has a hold on America, moreso than any other sport.”How do teams enter into the College Football Playoff?First, breathe out– an unbeaten Power 5 champ like Florida State will never be excluded once again.”The automatic conference champ was something that was essential to the ACC, and I know it was essential to other conferences, too, “said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.” That’s assuring to everyone.

“The 11 presidents and chancellors who have the ultimate authority over the playoff are expected to quickly approve a design that rewards the five highest-ranked conference champs and the next

seven highest-ranked groups. That puts a restored focus on the conference championship games, and it likewise guarantees an area in the 12-team field for the highest-ranked Group of 5 champ– a significant change from the four-team system, in which the only warranty for the leading G5 champ was a New Year’s 6 bowl.”Our leagues will have a shot,”Aresco said.The 4 highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top-four seeds and get a first-round bye. The other 8 groups will play in the first

round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or”at other websites designated by the higher-seeded institution.”Editor’s Picks 1 Associated That implies any team that does not make the high-end of a first-round bye will have

to win four

straight games to win the national championship. If a team lost its conference championship game, and played in 4 straight championship game, it would have played an unprecedented 17 games.(And you thought it was hard now). Beware not to puzzle the seeding with the choice committee’s ranking

. The 13-member committee will still

release its weekly leading 25, which will be used to determine the highest-ranked conference champs. That means, though, that if Georgia wins the SEC and is ranked No. 1 by the choice committee, and Alabama loses that game and is No. 3 in the CFP ranking– and even No. 2!– the Tide will be seeded No. 5 behind 3 other conference champs and Georgia.(Check out that again, please ). Historically, the choice committee releases six rankings, which would likely begin this year on Nov. 5, however that is anticipated to be

figured out in April at the

annual CFP spring meeting. As of now, there is no minimum ranking requirement for the 5 highest-ranked conference champs. Any independent like Notre Dame can not earn a first-round bye because it can not win a conference title. That also applies to Washington State and Oregon State, which have a temporary scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West and can complete for the national championship, but aren’t eligible to win the MWC and do not make up a league of their own, per NCAA and CFP rules.With the large number of Huge 10 and SEC groups, there’s a possibility that those leagues could fill the bulk of the field.”We have actually got great depth, “Big 10 commissioner Tony Petitti said.”I expect us to have very strong representation in

the playoff. I think our coaches expect it, our Advertisements expect it, our fans expect it. We’re good, we’re deep, which’s the

best benefit.” Steinbrecher stated,”if they make it, they make it.””I’m a huge follower you’re going to make your way into this thing,” he stated.”I’m not quite convinced that it will be absolutely that [an SEC-Big 10 majority]

, but we’ll see how it plays out.”When are the CFP games?First round(on-campus)Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game(night )Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and night)Quarterfinals Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Vrbo Feast Bowl(evening) Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl( early afternoon), Rose Championship game (late afternoon)
and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl(night )Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
(night )CFP Championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta What will take place to the rest of the bowls?Traditionally, bowl season has begun the 2nd Saturday after the conferencetitle games
, which will now also be when the playoff starts(see above). Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, said the company will consult with the conference commissioners and ESPN in late January to think about starting earlier

.”That gives a chance for some teams who just qualified for championship game who are thrilled about the chance to play the game quicker, and then to be able to get on with their recruiting,”Carparelli said.”And perhaps a few of these guys who are entering the transfer website will play that last game because they don’t have to wait around too long and after that go on and do what’s finest for them after that.”The NCAA’s football competitors committee fulfills late February, however a final decision is unlikely to be authorized till later in the spring.The present December schedule for college football is crammed. The transfer window opened on Dec. 4– the day after the committee revealed the playoff teams, and 2 days after the conference title games. Players were enabled to transfer through Jan. 2– the day after the CFP semifinals.

Sandwiched in between all of that was the Dec. 20 early signing day.”The issue is not the bowls or the bowl system,” Carparelli said.

“The issue is the circumstances that we’ve enabled to be developed around it.” Get your favorite live sports, stories and originals with ESPN+, Disney+and Hulu. Update to a Disney Bundle strategy and start streaming something for everyone today! Inbound freshmen were

watching the transfer portal, and transfers were enjoying the finalizing classes. Fans were seeing championship game without a few of their star players.”I believe the recruiting calendar in December needs to change,”Sankey said.”That’s not something brand-new for me to say. We’re prepared to

resolve it. We’ll spend time as a league and resend ideas once again. The early signing date can not stay where it is. That’s unfair to the highest-level groups. Where the other 110 teams in the

bowl subdivision care or FCS, they have to be attentive that this end of football drives the lot. The concept that it’s an uncomfortable timing is truth.” The New Year’s Six bowls, which are the Cotton, Fiesta, Peach, Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls, will remain a part of the CFP in 2024 and 2025, however the commissioners have not said openly yet how they will figure into the rotation in the next agreement.”There’s a lot that’s still going to be discussed, and that’s a subject that still requires to be vetted out,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said, “but from my point of view there’s a great history with the New Year’s Six. In some respects they credentialize those games because there’s a lot of awareness around them. There will be more discussion, however I’m positive those games will belong of the future.”Phillips has actually been outspoken about the bowl games outside of the New Year’s 6, and said the commissioners continue to discuss how to keep the bowl season healthy, while also wondering if more than 40 bowls is sustainable.” Likely not,”Phillips stated. “I simply feel that if we do not pay close attention to that, that will do college football harm,”he said.”There has actually constantly been an awful lot of good football teams at the end of the year that want a possibility to continue to play, and this brand-new playoff will whet the appetite

of lots of, but it will only kind of satiate the thirst of 12. … There’ll be other good groups that have actually been overlooked, so we have to attempt to find out about what we have actually translucented the CFP current model of 4, where now we have the transfer website, opt-outs at a greater rate than previously. There’s always been medical reasons why student-athletes have not played also. That’s a piece of this we have to use as part of the decision-making in what we make with the rest of the bowl system.”To end up being bowl eligible a school should have a minimum of six wins with a winning portion of.500. In 2023, the bowls were only one group short, and 5-7 Minnesota filled out. In 2022, Rice was the only group that filled in, and in 2021, there was one team too many from COVID-10 lingering effects.” Current historic information informs us we’re at the best number for bowls,”Carparelli stated.”It’s difficult to understand at the start of the season the number of bowl-eligible teams you’ll have at completion, but with the information we have, we’re right at the right number.”

Carparelli said the postseason doesn’t need to be an”either-or “between the CFP and the rest of the bowls.”It’s both combined, “he stated.”They both play an actually important role in college football.”What’s the future of championship game games?Conference national championship, in theory, must get

increased interest, considered that the top five winners will earn a journey to the playoff and a first-round bye. There has actually been no indication from any of the commissioners that there is a desire to relinquish such an important residential or commercial property– at least not any time quickly.”We’re devoted to playing a national championship, “the Big Ten’s Petitti stated.” I believe in the structure we’re discussing, there’s enough to still bet. It does suggest something to win the Huge Ten championship. Our fans truly support the game and enjoy it. We saw that this year. And the strength of it on a constant basis is only going to enhance with a no-division format. Now you’re comparing two really, truly strong teams.”Yormark called it”a tentpole moment”for the Big 12.” Will that change in time? I do not understand,”he said. “I like our game. It creates a terrific story. If you just look at this year’s champ game– highest-attended ever. Highest-gross ever, created a lots of enjoyment, more social networks engagement than any other champ game in our history. However with the ever-changing landscape, we’ll need to see what unfolds in the future. “What will college football look like without Nick Saban? Todd Kirkland/Getty Images It won’t be the exact same without his press conference, with the coach always next to his dependable Coke bottle, which is” not a crystal ball,”aight?Not even Saban understands what Alabama will appear like when the Kalen DeBoer era starts this fall, however it’s safe to say his retirement will have a trickle-down result on the whole sport– from the coaching trees he when planted to a door that might open for other SEC groups on the verge of reaching the title game. (Cough, cough, Lane Kiffin). With Oklahoma and Texas signing up with the conference, the SEC will remove its departments this fall, and groups will play eight conference games plusone needed opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or” major independent.”With the 16-team league, the cutthroat competitors of chasing after Alabama in the now-extinct SEC West will change. That will not always make it any simpler, as LSU still faces the Tide, Ole Miss– and Oklahoma. Ole Miss doesn’t play Alabama, however hosts Georgia and travels to LSU. Georgia deals with Alabama throughout the routine season– in addition to Texas.The top 2 teams that emerge from this slugfest will play for the SEC title.Saban has actually been the face of the SEC, and while Georgia coach Kirby Smart has closed the gap

on the Tide by winning two of the previous 3 nationwide titles, Saban set the bar by winning 6 of his 7 titles in Tuscaloosa. Even Georgia has a long way to precede matching that dynasty, though Saban will no longer be the one preventing it in the SEC title game.In addition to Saban’s replacement, there will also be brand-new faces at the greatest level of CFP management. CFP executive director Bill Hancock has actually revealed his retirement and will be succeeded by Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, who is currently the superintendent of the Flying force Academy.In the AAC, Aresco is retiring, and the conference is in the midst of a search for his replacement.Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has actually also announced his retirement, and will be changed by NBC Sports Group chairman and Notre Dame alum Pete Bevacqua. Both Aresco and Swarbrick are members of the CFP management committee.Will the CFP ever end up being the governing body of the CFB?For years, some leaders in college athletics have promoted FBS football to operate outside of the NCAA’s governance structure. In 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Sports suggested a company called the National College Football Association govern FBS football through income it generates from the CFP media contract.FBS football is presently the only college sport that runs its championship and all of its income outside of the NCAA. While there hasn’t sufficed support for the sport to run under the purview of the CFP, there are still commissioners and athletic directors who believe the CFP ought to have more authority progressing. “My hope would be it becomes more of an enterprise, like a conference or the NCAA and grow beyond just the game operations,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said. “Right now it has huge games, events, however it also has profits circulation. I wish to

see us connect rules to the game, policy around the game. The NCAA has academics, transfers, all that, however I wish to see the CFP plug into the policymaking in a more direct way since today it exists on the periphery, however it has all the right individuals in the space.”Petitti stated the governance of the sport isn’t his concern today.”Right now I would state the priority is getting the 12-team playoff right,” Petitti stated.”That’s the focus. You’re asking it to do a lot more. I understand it’s been spoken about a lot, but my focus in terms of how I attempt to contribute in the space and how to represent the Huge 10 is to make sure we do that right first.”Phillips, who has been the only Power 5 commissioner to serve on both the NCAA Constitution and Change committees(2022), stated there has been some benefit to having the CFP run beyond the NCAA. Phillips said”it’s worked so far,” but the commissioners will continue to evaluate if it ought to remain unchanged.”What does it do to other sports?”stated Phillips, who will become the president of the Collegiate Commissioners Association this summer season.”What does it say to other sports, to the other student-athletes and coaches who are in those sports to have one stand alone? I’m not saying positive or negative, however all of it has to be thought about, and we’ll continue to do that.”