This winter, the CFP Board of Managers will decide whether to go forward with a significant expansion in time for the 2024 season or consider it in 2026.
The original proposed 12-team model would give automatic bids to the six highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of league. If used with last year's standings, the Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina, representing the AAC and Sun Belt, would have been in over Pac-12 champion Oregon.
That proposal wasn't well received in Power Five conferences like the ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12. Since 2014, when the four-team playoff began, only the ACC and SEC have had a team make the field every single year.