Report says big changes could come to college football bowl games
ORLANDO , FL - DECEMBER 27: Pop-Tarts mascots perform for fans before the Pop-Tarts Bowl between BYU Cougars and the and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, December 27, 2025 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/
DALLAS - College football administrators are considering making big changes to how the postseason bowl system works.
Power 4 vs. Power 4 only?
What they're saying:
Yahoo Sports reports that high-level college administrators have discussed changing the number of postseason college bowl games.
One proposal suggests creating 10 bowl games that pit Power 4 teams exclusively against one another. These 10 bowls would be played at current bowl sites but wouldn't be beholden to existing conference tie-ins.
Presently, there are over 40 bowl games, many of which pit Power 4 schools against Group of Six programs. This includes College Football Playoff games like the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl.
Most bowls have specific conference tie-ins: the Sugar Bowl is contractually obligated to take the SEC Champion.
ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 10: Cotton Bowl logo center field prior to the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Texas Longhorns College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic on January 10, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by W
A changing ecosystem
Dig deeper:
The calls for change come as conferences debate on whether to expand the College Football Playoff. The tournament currently sits at 12 schools, but there have been calls to expand it to 16 or 24.
The more schools advance to the postseason, the less there are to take part in bowl games.
Money goes into this proposal as well. The rights to the potential games could be sold to the highest bidder and distributed to the schools. The top-10 non-CFP bowls last year paid out more than $50 million combined.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers scrambles while under pressure from Rueben Bain Jr. #4 of the Miami Hurricanes during the first quarter in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Ha
What about the Group of Six?
Many bowl games pit schools outside the Power 4 conferences against one another. Local bowls like the Armed Forces Bowl and Frisco Bowl typically see matchups between smaller schools.
Their survival could depend on networks needing to fill air time during the holiday season, according to the report. Those bowls still average millions of viewers despite featuring non-marquee teams or stakes.
ESPN, the primary bowl game television broadcaster, would have to sign off on any changes.
What's next:
Changes to the bowl system would not come until the 2027 season, the report says. Most bowl game tie-ins with conferences and television partners expire after the upcoming season.
The Source: Information in this story came from a Yahoo Sports report.