Happy days are coming for those who wanted the College Football Playoff to expand beyond four teams. In a unanimous vote, the College Football Playoff's board of managers approved the expansion of the playoff to 12 teams for the 2026 season, but it could be here even sooner. The board is comprised of university presidents and chancellors. The 12-team bracket will consist of six automatic qualifiers and six at-large bids chosen by the College Football Playoff committee. The six automatic entries will be the six highest-ranked conference champions. College football's highest division, the Football Bowl Subdivision, consists of five "Power 5" conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) and five "Group of 5" conferences (American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt). Including six conference champions guarantees the playoffs have at least one Group of 5 team each year. According to ESPN, some of the smaller conferences were pushing for a 16-team playoff, but that was not approved. The expansion was approved for the 2026 season. The current television contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. However, the board is asking the group who runs the playoff — the ten conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletic director — to explore the possibility of expanding the playoff as early as the 2024 season. That group will meet next week to discuss the possibility. However, according to ESPN , it could take "weeks or months" to decide. The playoff will have four rounds. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. The remaining eight teams will meet in the first round (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8). The winners of those four games will play the top four seeds in the 8-team second round. According to the board, "the opponent from first-round game winners will be assigned by the selection committee based on the bracket. " So, like the basketball tournaments, teams will not be reseeded after the first round. In the first round, the games will be played at the home stadium of the higher seed. The home team may also choose another site if they desire. The second- and third-round games (i. e. , quarterfinals and semifinals) will be played at bowl games. In the current format, the two semifinal games rotate each year among Peach Bowl in Atlanta, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the Orange Bowl in Miami, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix. The commissioners will decide which bowl games. However, with the second and third rounds totaling six games, it is expected that the same six bowls will now be used every year, with the different bowl games rotating as hosts of the semifinals. The national championship game will continue to be played at a neutral site. The new format recommends the first-round games be played on either the first or second weekend of December. They asked for at least 12 days between the conference championship games and the first round. This year's conference championship games are scheduled for December 2nd and 3rd. In short, a lot. According to NPR , the media rights for the new 11-game format could be worth as much as $2 billion annually for the ten conferences. The current deal with ESPN pays $470 million annually. NPR also estimates that if the expanded playoff starts before 2026, it could more than double the revenue for the conferences to approximately $920 million per year. It is unclear how the new revenue will be divided among the ten conferences and Notre Dame, especially between the Power 5 and Group of 5 schools. Well, everybody wins with new money and more games for the fans. However, there are some other winners, including the Group of Five schools along with the Pac-12 and the Big 12 schools. In the 8-year history of the College Football Playoff, the Pac-12 has missed the playoffs six times and hasn't been represented since the 2016 season. A Big 12 team has not been chosen four times, and the Group of 5 received their first invitation this past season. Those groups are now guaranteed at least one seat at the table every year. .