The College Football Playoff board of managers unanimously approved a model that will guarantee the five highest-ranked conference champions’ inclusion in the expanded 12-team field this fall, along with the next seven highest-ranked teams, and was just announced today. 

After months of delay due to the uncertainty and loss of teams in the Pac-12, the decision was made Tuesday morning in a virtual meeting of the 10 FBS commissioners and the Notre Dame president, Rev. John Jenkins. The vote had to be unanimous for the 5+7 format to be approved, and the Pac-12 had either previously abstained or asked for a delay as it worked on determining its future following sweeping conference realignment.

The Pac-12 and Mountain West have agreed to a temporary scheduling partnership in which Oregon State and Washington State will play at least six MWC opponents in 2024.

According to Heather Dinach (ESPN), she was told “For our two schools in the Pac-12 as it’s currently configured, there is no question that five-seven, with seven at-larges, is better than six at-larges, there’s no question our football coaches are going to want to compete for one of those seven slots, and seven is going to be better than six.”

In most years, the 5+7 format will assure the conference champions from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC a spot in the playoff, along with the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion. The CFP intentionally won’t refer to the Group of 5 in its description of the format, though, because there is a chance that a champion from one of the Power 4 conferences finishes ranked below the top champion from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt or Mid-American Conference.

One change they are close to agreeing on, according to multiple sources, is eliminating the contracts the New Year’s Six bowls have with respective conferences in the new contract. The Sugar Bowl has a historical agreement with the SEC and Big 12, while the Rose Bowl has long been contractually tied to the Big Ten and Pac-12, and the Orange Bowl with the ACC, Big Ten and Notre Dame.

While those agreements are expected to remain for this season and next, there is a desire among CFP leaders to have more flexibility in where teams are placed moving forward.

Photo Credit – NBC Sports