AFCA board recommends multiple changes to CFP, elimination of conference championship games
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) board announced Tuesday that it has voted in favor of multiple major changes to the college football postseason.
The AFCA announced the following proposed changes in a statement released Tuesday:
- Eliminate conference championship games
- Reduce scheduled bye weeks from two to one
- Preserve a dedicated window for the Army-Navy game, while allowing flexibility for other games to be played on that day outside the window
- Reduce the minimum number of days between contests to no fewer than six
While not formally endorsing any of the propsed Playoff formats, the AFCA statement included a line that future models “should maximize the number of participants while honoring the proposed completion date,” an apparent nod to a 24-team CFP.
The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for the 2026 season. There are talks, though, of expansion before the 2027 season. Reports indicate that the Big Ten supports a 24-team Playoff, while the SEC is in favor of 16 teams.
Alabama AD Greg Byrne made headlines in April when he called for the end of the SEC Championship Game. Last week, speaking to Paul Finebaum, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey noted the contracts involved with the SEC Championship Game.
“We do have contracts, and you don’t just get to walk away from agreements,” Sankey told Finebaum while talking about the SEC Championship Game. “That happens in college football a lot, as we’ve seen with individual decisions, but as an organization, we have a great relationship with the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the city of Atlanta. And so those should not just be microphone moments for people to opine.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
