The article was written by Ralph D. Russo and Stephen Hawkins, who are sports writers for the Associated Press.

The field for the 12-team College Football Playoff beginning next season will comprise five conference champions and seven at-large selections after the university presidents who oversee the CFP voted unanimously Tuesday to tweak the format.

The decision to reduce the allotted spots for conference champions from six to five was influenced by changes in conference alignment and the breakup of the Pac-12. A vote that was anticipated to take place last month was postponed at the request of the Pac-12.

The original plan for the 12-team format was to have the six highest-ranked conference champions, with the top four receiving first-round byes, and six at-large selections. But with one fewer so-called power conference after the Papc-12’s demise, the commissioners who manage the CFP recommended the change from the 6-6 format to 5-7.

All conferences will not receive automatic entry. The top five conference champions selected by the CFP committee will be given those slots, guaranteeing at least one team from a conference other than the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC will qualify for the 12-team tournament.

The rankings set by the selection committee will dictate the seven at-large bids. There is no restriction on the number of teams that can qualify from the same league.

Next season marks the debut of a 12-team playoff, following a decade of it being limited to four teams.

Mark Keenum, the chairman of the CFP Board of Managers and president of Mississippi State, stated that the adjustment made to the College Football Playoff is a sensible decision due to the changes in conference structures since the new format was adopted in September 2022. He expressed excitement for the implementation of this new format during the upcoming postseason.

The top four conference champions receive a bye in the first round of playoffs. The remaining teams, ranked fifth through 12th, will play on the home field of the higher-ranked team. This means that the fifth seed will play the twelfth seed, the sixth seed will play the eleventh seed, the seventh seed will play the tenth seed, and the eighth seed will play the ninth seed. The first of these games will take place on December 20, which is a Friday night, and the other three games will be played on the following day.

The quarterfinal and semifinal playoff games will take place at the New Year’s Six bowl games. The Fiesta Bowl will host the first quarterfinal game on New Year’s Eve, followed by the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 and the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 will serve as the semifinal locations.

The location for the national championship will not change and the upcoming season’s title game will take place on January 20th in Atlanta.

The decision-making panel for the CFP consists of 10 conference leaders and Notre Dame’s athletic director, Jack Swarbrick. They are planning to convene in person on Wednesday in Dallas, where they may discuss the ongoing negotiations for a $1.3 billion contract with ESPN. If finalized, this deal would grant the network exclusive broadcasting rights for the 12-team playoff until 2031.

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Please follow Ralph D. Russo on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and tune in to his podcast at http://www.appodcasts.com.

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“The Associated Press’ rankings for the top 25 college football teams can be found at https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll, along with news and updates on college football at https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com