College Football Playoff

MISSION

The committee’s task will be to select the best teams, rank the teams for inclusion in the playoff and then assign the teams to the playoff bracket and their game sites.

PRINCIPLES

The committee will select the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering:

• Strength of schedule,
• Head-to-head competition,
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory), and,
• Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.

VOTING PROCESS

The voting process generally will include seven rounds of ballots through which the committee members first will select a small pool of teams to be evaluated, then will rank those teams, with the teams being placed in the rankings in groups of three for three rounds, then four for the other four rounds. Individual committee members’ rankings will be compiled into a composite ranking for each round. Each committee member will independently evaluate an immense amount of information during the process. This evaluation will lead to individual qualitative and quantitative opinions that will inform each member’s votes.

NUMBER OF TEAMS TO BE RANKED

The committee will rank 25 teams. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams will be in the playoff.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS RANKINGS

If fewer than five conference champions are among the top 25 on Selection Day, then the committee will rank the remaining conference champions. The highest ranked of those teams will be added to the playoff until five conference champions are included in the playoff. A conference champion(s) from outside the top 12 will be placed at the bottom of the 12-team seeding in rank order.

MEETING SCHEDULE

The committee will meet in person weekly beginning generally at mid-season to produce interim rankings before selection weekend.

The dates for the fall of 2025 are as follows:

• Monday and Tuesday, November 3-4
• Monday and Tuesday, November 10-11
• Monday and Tuesday, November 17-18
• Monday and Tuesday, November 24-25
• Monday and Tuesday, December 1-2
• Friday through Sunday, December 5-7

POINT PERSONS FOR GATHERING INFORMATION

The committee has assigned two members to be the “point persons” to gather material about the teams in each conference and the independent teams. The process will ensure that the committee fully reviews each team and that no information is overlooked.

The point persons will ensure that (1) the committee has complete, detailed information about each team, and (2) the conferences and independent institutions have an effective and efficient channel for providing facts to the committee.

The committee wishes to be clear about the role of the point persons. They are not and will not be advocates for teams in any conference or for any independent institution. They will not speak on behalf of any conference or institution during the committee’s deliberations or represent any conference’s or independent institution’s interests during those deliberations. Their function is to gather information and ensure that it is available to the committee. Their role as a liaison to a particular conference or independent institution is purely for the purpose of objective fact-gathering.

The point persons will communicate with conference staff members on three information-gathering teleconferences during the regular season: one before the first ranking, one before the fourth ranking and one the week before Selection Day. Outside of these teleconferences, there will be no contact between the point persons and any conference staff member, or vice-versa, but the conference may relay information to the committee through the CFP staff.

Following were the point persons for the 2024 season:

METRICS

There will not be one single metric to assist the committee. Rather, the committee will consider a wide variety of data and information.

PARTICIPANTS

There shall be no limit on the number of teams that may participate in the CFP from one conference.

PAIRINGS

1. The four highest-ranked teams will be seeded 1, 2, 3 and 4 and will receive byes in the first round. The remaining eight teams, including the fifth conference champion, will be seeded 5 through 12 based on their final ranking. If the fifth conference champion is not ranked among the top 12 teams, it will be seeded at No. 12.



2. Teams seeded 5, 6, 7 and 8 will host first-round games against teams seeded 12, 11, 10 and 9, respectively.



3. In the Playoff Quarterfinals, the team seeded No. 1 will meet the winner of the game between seeds 8 and 9. No. 2 will meet the 7 vs. 10 winner; No. 3 will meet the 6 vs. 11 winner; No. 4 will meet the 5 vs. 12 winner.



4. In the Playoff Semifinals, the winner of the game between No. 1 vs. 8/9 will meet the winner of No. 4 vs. 5/12. The winner of the game between No. 2 vs. 7/10 will meet the winner of No. 3 vs. 6/11.



5. Traditional contract-bowl relationships will be the top priority when the committee assigns teams to Playoff Quarterfinal sites, but such priority cannot be guaranteed because of the bracket. For example, if the Big 12 Conference champion were ranked No. 1 and the Southeastern Conference champion were ranked No. 2, then the Big 12 champion would be assigned to the Sugar Bowl.
   
   The committee will use geographic proximity for the No. 1 seed when assigning the Playoff Semifinal sites.

GAMES PLAYED AFTER SELECTION DAY

The committee will establish the final rankings on Selection Day; as a result, the committee will not consider the results of games played after Selection Day.

SELECTION SEQUENCE

The committee will adhere to the following sequence:

• Rank the teams 1‐25.
• Teams ranked Nos. 1 through 4 will be seeded accordingly and receive first-round byes.
• Seed the remainder of the field.
• Assign the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to quarterfinal games in sequential order. The No. 4 seed will play in the remaining quarterfinal game.
• Assign the group containing the No. 1 seed to the semifinal game as noted herein.
• Assign the No. 2 seed’s group to the other semifinal game.
• Place Seed Nos. 5 through 12 in the bracket per the policies herein.
• There will be no reseeding after any round of the CFP.

RECUSAL POLICY

If a committee member or an immediate family member (e.g., spouse, sibling or child) (a) is compensated by a school, (b) provides professional services for a school or (c) is on the coaching staff or administrative staff at a school or is a football student-athlete at a school, that member will be recused. Such compensation shall include not only direct employment, but also current paid consulting arrangements, deferred compensation (e.g., contract payments continuing after employment has ended) or other benefits.

A member shall be deemed fully recused from the evaluation of a team if the member: (a) receives direct compensation from the institution in question; or (b) has an immediate family member who is a football student-athlete, football staff member, or senior administrator at the institution. A fully recused member shall not participate in any vote concerning the team, nor shall the member be present during any deliberations related to the team’s ranking or placement into the postseason bracket.

A member shall be deemed partially recused if the member has a secondary relationship with the institution (e.g., an immediate family member employed by the institution but outside of the football program or senior administration). A partially recused member may remain present and participate in discussions related to the team, but shall not be allowed to participate in votes involving the team in question.

The executive director shall have the authority to impose a partial recusal if he or she determines that a non-compensated institutional affiliation (e.g., alumnus, former player, former administrator or former coach) exists that could reasonably be perceived to compromise the impartiality of the committee member in question.

Following are the recusals for the 2025 season (full recusal unless otherwise specified):

TERMS

Members shall serve three-year terms. Members will not be eligible for reappointment, but a member’s term may be extended by one year (1) if the member would serve as chair in what otherwise would be his/her final year or (2) if other circumstances warrant. Further, a member appointed to serve an unexpired term may be appointed to serve a full three years.

COMMITTEE CHAIR

The management committee selects the chair of the committee.