College football fans will have to wait to see any implications the conference realignment might have on the College Football Playoff.
On Wednesday, CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock met with commissioners to discuss a few agenda items, one of which was the future CFP format after the conference realignment.
Hancock said the meeting was "cordial" overall and that the CFP agreed to approve stipends for players' families to travel during the tournament; however, on the issue of a clarified playoff structure for the future, Hancock said no decisions were made.
Currently, for 2024 and beyond, the CFP is set to use an expanded 12-team model that includes the six highest-ranked conference champions and the next six highest ranked at-large teams. This is a vastly different format from that of previous years, which only included four postseason bids.
The biggest change in conference realignment news is Pac-12 going belly up with only four teams -- Washington State, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Oregon -- remaining for next year.
CFP rumors: No clarity on future playoff format yet
In light of these realignments, could the 12-team model shift slightly, perhaps giving five bids to conference champions and seven to at-large teams? The appeal of this new model, according to MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, is that the CFP would place more value on conference champions as it would guarantee as least one spot for a Group of Five champion.
Despite the swirling uncertainties, Hancock noted that the CFP will wait "when the dust settles" before making any decisions on the playoff format.
Any change to the CFP 2024 format will require a unanimous vote among the CFP Board of Managers.
The college football landscape has been and continues to be altered, but fans will have to wait for more clarity regarding the CFP's future. Four of the Power Five conferences will be remodeled in 2024; of those, the Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference may have the cloudiest outlooks.
Will Pac-12 continue to exist beyond this season? Is the ACC serious about acquiring more schools, including Stanford and Cal?
Expect more questions than answers at this point concerning the future of college football.
