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Report: New 12-team playoff format will cause elimination of multiple bowl games
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As many as 10 bowl games could be eliminated as a result of college football’s 12-team playoff format, according to a report.
That’s per Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, who adds that the changes would come in 2023.
Pending approval – which it will be approved – @CFBPlayoff headed to 12 teams. Earliest start would be after 2023 regular season, sources told @Stadium. Because of impact of expanded playoff, expect anywhere from 4-10 bowls to be eliminated by 2023, sources said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 10, 2021
That’s when the first 12-team College Football Playoff is expected to take place.
The news of the new format was a bit jarring, although many fans and media showed support for the idea. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was amongst those who came out in favor of the new structure.
Major bowl games will still be heavily involved going forward. As of now, the expectation is that bowl sites will host playoff games from the quarterfinals onward. That would mean at least seven games at bowl sites, including the National Championship.
However, it’s the smaller bowls who could be facing elimination with this change.
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson spoke about why it was important to keep the bowl games involved in the postseason.
Mountain West commish Craig Thompson on why bowls will be used in quarterfinals & not on-campus sites: “History and allowing bowls to continue to be relevant in the system … this can be discussed. This was only a recommendation"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 10, 2021
An official announcement regarding playoff expansion is expected in September.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.