College Football Playoff will double in size to 24 teams starting next year

The College Football Playoff will expand from 12 to 24 teams next season, a change that ends the Power Four conference title games. College leaders say the wider competition will bring more teams and supporters into the postseason, while the major conferences expect additional places to sustain interest and spending among their members.

Five teams will qualify automatically: the champions of the Power Four leagues and the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences. A selection panel will choose the other 19; the top eight seeds receive byes, and the first two rounds will be played on campus from the second weekend in December. ESPN agreed to add 11 games under a five-year deal worth an extra $1.7bn, although terms were not disclosed; Notre Dame will have no guaranteed place.