UConn Football: What CFP Expansion Means for Huskies.
UConnUConn Football: What CFP Expansion Means for Huskies. With more berths, will non-power conference schools have a better shot of being selected?
UConn meeting Texas or BYU or Ohio State – or any Power Four team – in the NCAA Basketball Tournament lurks as a very real possibility at the end of every season. News broke Friday that the College Football Playoff and ESPN have reached the framework of an agreement to double the number of teams in the field.
That is on top of the $1.3 billion average that ESPN is contracted to pay for the next six seasons, The Athletic reported. Under the agreement, per reports, conference championship games would be canceled, freeing up another week on the calendar for the added playoff games.
UConn cheerleaders perform at the Fenway Bowl between UConn and Army at Fenway Park in Boston on Dec. 27, 2025. As an independent team in football, UConn is not a member of the Group of Six conferences but for bowl purposes, is lumped with them.
KEY POINTS
- In 2027, college football teams will play for one of 24 spots in the annual end-of-season playoff.
- But how about UConn football playing one of those power-conference teams in the College Football Playoff, now that it's almost a done deal to expand the postseason pool from 12 to 24 teams?
- Both The Athletic and ESPN reported that the two sides had come to terms on a deal that would give the sports giant broadcast the rights to the playoff for a $345 million fee per year.
- The first five playoff spots would be reserved for the champions from the Power Four conferences – Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference – and the top-ranked (by the CFP committee) Group of Six team.