College Football Playoff to expand to 24 teams and end conference championship games under new agreement

The College Football Playoff will expand to a 24-team format and, under terms reported by WLKY, will do so in a way that eliminates conference championship games. The announcement, reported Nov. 9, 2026, would shift the postseason structure away from championship matchups in favor of a larger playoff field.

WLKY’s report tied the change to a broader new agreement affecting multiple conferences that include Kentucky, Indiana, and Louisville programs. While conference championship games have traditionally served as late-season spotlights and tie-breakers, the new structure would remove those games from the calendar as a formal step toward the postseason.

The change means that conferences would no longer hold championship games as a required pathway into the playoff picture. Instead, teams would be selected into the expanded field based on the playoff’s distribution and selection rules set out in the agreement, according to WLKY. The practical effect is to reduce the number of high-stakes postseason events that involve conference top teams playing for an automatic league title game appearance.

The WLKY report also indicated that the move would impact how schools plan their schedules and how fans and broadcast partners prepare for the final weekend of the regular season. For Kentucky-area programs and for the broader region that includes Louisville and other nearby schools, the elimination of conference championships would change what remains as the decisive postseason event for many teams outside the playoff field.

Conference championship games have also carried financial and community impact for host cities, including spending tied to travel and local hospitality. Under the reported agreement, those communities would face fewer high-attendance events associated with the last regular-season conference contest, while playoff broadcasts and playoff-related events could become more concentrated earlier or across a longer span.

For programs in leagues that would otherwise reach a championship game, the shift could alter preparation routines for late-weekend competition, since the final conference weekend would no longer culminate in a league-title matchup. The schools and conferences would still retain other end-of-season games and rivalry matchups that are not contingent on a championship format, but the traditional championship-game stage would be removed.

The reported update sets up a transition period for the sport’s postseason planning, including tournament logistics and media scheduling for the expanded playoff. Conferences and member schools will need to align ticketing and event planning with the new postseason structure as governing bodies finalize and implement the schedule changes tied to the expanded field.