The College Football Playoff, a financial boon for the nation's most powerful conferences, will treble in size by 2026, according to two individuals familiar with the arrangement.
The new system might be in place by 2024, but officials must yet manage the practicalities and complexities of a wider field and a rise in national-title games.
Whether the revised format begins soon or not, Friday's decision placed the playoff on a clearer path toward the richest TV deal in college sports history, some say might fetch $2 billion a year.
Many questions remain. 11 university presidents and chancellors voted Friday to expand the playoff sooner rather than later.
If the playoff expands for 2024, TV rights will increase to $695 million from $470 million for each of the remaining two seasons of the current arrangement.
football expansion push is happening during a period of turbulence in college athletics, particularly for the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame that manage the playoff and disperse its money to colleges.