The Southeastern Conference has long been a powerful voice in college football. Now that its coaches are signaling support for a 24-team College Football Playoff, the effects would fundamentally alter bowl season.
In a Monday article by Chris Low of On3, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel endorsed expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams.
“The way college football is constantly changing, that probably makes the most sense,” Heupel said.
When the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams in 2024, playoffs or bust became the goal for many in the Power 4. Since then, bowl games have seen a drop in viewership, attendance and participation. Further expansion doesn’t coexist with the traditional bowl structure. It would swallow it.
Meaningless middle tier
Expansion would provide more at-large spots and access to the playoffs for programs, but it would also create a tier of programs whose fans would feel stuck in purgatory.
Conference runners-up and three-loss teams are likely to make the tournament in this model, so what does that leave for the middle-tier bowls? Exhibition football of near-miss teams offers little incentive beyond going through the motions.
The playoff will become the only source of relevance, leaving everything else feeling meaningless. Exhibition football doesn’t sell in the NIL era.
Opt-out era
Bowl season was already weakened by NFL Draft opt-outs and transfer portal entries; now, imagine a 9-3 team that sat on the bubble being left out and the fallout from it. The motivation gap widens when players realize that they will face a team on a neutral site around Christmas with nothing on the line.
Players aren’t the only ones opting out. Fans are, too. Traveling to see an exhibition game around the holidays is unappealing. In a Dec. 29, 2025, article from Sports Business Journal, it was reported that “Twelve of 23 non-CFP bowls contested thus far have seen a decrease in attendance compared to the same game last year.”
Fans are already struggling to travel for the game; they deserve to see the best players play.
Expansion supporters promise more access, but at what cost?
Supporters of expanding the playoff to 24 teams argue that it guarantees more access and inclusion. They would tell you that bowl games were already dying, and that expansion makes December more meaningful and creates larger audience engagement.
The truth is that the game isn’t evolving with an expanded playoff; the truth is that the bowl season fans love is being replaced. TV will follow the money made from the playoffs, and bowls officially become the inventory filler.
Bowl season once defined college football. It gave rising programs momentum heading into next season. It created New Year’s Day traditions. Expansion will move these games further into the background. When that happens, the death of bowl season is coming; it’s being scheduled.
