Fans of an expanded College Football Playoff field received some tough news on Friday. Despite a charge for change and hope that bigger bracket would soon be in place, executive director Bill Hancock announced that no alterations would be coming for at least four years.

Just a few months ago, there was serious momentum heading in the direction of an expanded field. Because of waning interest in the 4-team format, a proposal for a 12-team bracket reignited a passionate fanbase. But those hopes were crushed on Friday.

The College Football Playoff will be sticking with its 4-team format through the 2025 season, part of the original 12-year agreement. After that, the Playoff’s management committee will look into making some changes to the field.

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SEC Network host Paul Finebaum wasn’t a fan of Friday’s announcement. At all. He blasted the executives and conference commissioners for their inability to make the right move for the sport.

“This is a sad and embarrassing day for college football. I don’t know how we got here from where we were a couple of months ago,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter. “When this was announced as a working group, there was celebration among the fans and that’s the thing that’s so irritating — to listen to these commissioners and executives talk. They cannot settle this when it was already settled after a two-year investigation. The biggest losers are the people that love the sport and support it. They’re also leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table, which just shows that their feudal fiefdoms are more important than making money for their member institutions. I cannot tell you how disappointing this is to the fans of college football.

“It’s utterly ridiculous that the leaders of this sport can’t sit in a room and get this right. This is truly a dark moment in the history of college football.”

In a statement released Friday, Hancock revealed the decision made by the Board of Managers.

“The Board of Managers has accepted a recommendation from the Management Committee to continue the current four-team playoff for the next four years, as called for in the CFP’s original 12-year plan,” Hancock said in a statement. “At the same time, the Board expects the Management Committee to continue its discussions of a new format that would go into effect for the 2026-27 season.”

So, for now, it’s a 4-team field. Will there eventually be some change? Probably. But we’re going to have to tolerate the current format for at least a few more seasons.