College Football Playoff Won't Use Conference Titles as Tiebreaker in 12-Team Format

The College Football Playoff will no longer use conference titles as a tiebreaker to determine its field given that the five highest-ranked conference winners will receive automatic bids into the 12-team tournament.

The CFP made that announcement on Thursday, per ESPN's Heather Dinich. The CFP had four teams for the past 10 years but will now triple the number of playoff participants. Per Dinich, the four top-ranked conference winners will get a first-round bye.

Other tiebreakers are still in place, including strength of schedule and head-to-head results.

Per Dinich, the decision was made by FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua at the annual meeting of selection committee members this week.

The committee also released the all-important schedule leading up to the reveal of the 2024 field.

This year's CFP will begin on Dec. 20 with a first-round game followed by a trio of first-round games on Dec. 21. All of those games will be played at the higher-seeded teams' stadiums.