A New Selection Method

Why Selection Criteria Matter

Selecting 32 teams from 136 FBS programs requires clear, transparent criteria that balance conference championships with overall team quality. The selection process must be defensible, understandable to fans, and fair to all conferences regardless of size or prestige. Unlike smaller playoff formats where a single selection committee decision can determine who plays for a championship, a 32-team format reduces controversy by including all conference champions while still rewarding the best teams with favorable seeding.

How It Would Work

The selection process for the 32-team Division I FBS playoffs will depend on the proposed resources. Because the conference landscape is always changing, determining how many automatic bids gets tricky. The 5+11 format for the 16-team field was admirable. However, it’s becoming inevitable that the at-large bids are going to outnumber the number of conferences in the FBS.

With the majority of the conferences wanting conference championships to still have meaning, I would like to introduce the traditional model. In the Traditional Model, each conference champion would earn an automatic bid to the playoffs. The rest of the playoff field would be filled with at-large teams. The 32-Team Division I FBS Playoffs will have 16 national seeds and 16 unseeded teams. The seeding goes as follows:

  • Top 16 Teams are seeded 1-16
  • Teams ranked 17-32 are unseeded (includes lower-ranked conference champions)
  • Matchups: #1 seed vs lowest ranked unseeded team, #2 seed vs 2nd lowest ranked unseeded team, etc.

The committee will release the final regular season CFP Top 25, which would show the 16 national seeds and the top nine unseeded teams.

Conference Tiebreakers

If you are wondering how each FBS conference would break ties to determine a conference champion, it would depend on what each FBS conference would want to do. Otherwise, if all FBS conferences would break ties universally, in an event of a multi-way tie at the top of the conference standings, the tie-breakers usually would be as follows:

  • Head-to-head (if applicable)
  • Record against common opponents
  • Record against highest common conference opponents based on the overall conference standings
  • Conference strength of opponents of each tied team
  • Overall number of wins. The following conditions will apply to the calculation of the total number of wins:
    • Only one win against a team from the NCAA FCS or lower division will be counted annually.
    • Any games that are exempted from counting against the annual maximum number of football contests per NCAA rules. (current Bylaw 17.10.5.2.1) shall not be included.
  • Highest ranking out of the tied teams

Regarding FBS Independents

Only UConn and Notre Dame remain as FBS Independents. While Notre Dame has a path to the playoffs, for any other team that wants to become an FBS Independent, it is a risky move. FBS Independents play all of their games as non-conference games. Moreover, if their strength of schedule is not good, they may be on the fence of a guaranteed playoff spot. In NCAA collegiate sports, all FBS Independent teams were treated as part of an at-large pool of making the tournament field.

Since 1990, the FBS Independent pool decreased. Teams eventually found a conference to join for their long-term stability and there are not many FBS Independent teams left. In my opinion, it is no longer necessary. All FBS Independents would be treated as at-large contenders.

Selection Show

TV Networks, such as ABC/ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports, will not collaborate with the new selection process. In addition, they must not influence the final selections and seeding to the 32-Team Division I FBS Playoffs. They will also not have a concluding say to which teams are deserving to make the playoff field and who is undeserving to make the playoff field.

Concluding the regular season, there would be an “FBS Selection Show.” The FBS Selection Show and would air after the Army-Navy game at 7:30PM EST (on the Saturday after Thanksgiving). ABC/ESPN, FOX, CBS, and NBC would all broadcast the selection show, and will last for one hour, with analysis to follow. The first half hour would reveal teams getting into the playoffs commercial free, while the second half hour would provide analysis. Here is how the 32-team playoff reveal will work:

  • Disclose the “Need to Know” of the 32-team playoff field.
  • Reveal the final regular season College Football Playoff Top 25:
    • Reveal the top eight national seeds (presentation for each team)
    • Show national seeds 9-16 as a list.
    • Announce the playoff field
  • Reveal the Last Teams In and First Teams Out
    • Last Teams In: these teams acquired the last obtainable playoff bids
    • First Teams Out: these are the top four teams considered for the playoffs but did not receive playoff invites.
  • Show the playoff composition for all FBS Conferences and Independents

Further analysis regarding the playoff field would then air that Saturday Night at 8:30-9:30PM EST on ESPN, FS1, Peacock, and Paramount+ to further breakdown and to preview the 32-team playoff field.