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adam ritenberg
multiple authors
The American Football Coaches Association is recommending a change to the college football calendar that would end the season by the second Monday in January, while also pushing for increased access to the College Football Playoff.
The AFCA board announced four proposed calendar changes Tuesday: eliminating conference championship games; reducing open weeks in the season from two to one; preserving a special window for the Army–Navy game in December, but allowing postseason games to be played on the same day; and reducing the minimum number of days between games to no less than six.
The proposal comes two weeks after the NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee recommended that the regular season begin an earlier Thursday, now known as Week Zero, starting with the 2027 season.
The AFCA’s plan comes in response to a longer college season and the possibility of further playoff expansion with a 12-team CFP. The most recent CFP Championship Game between Indiana and Miami took place on January 19, and the 2027 and 2028 title games are scheduled for January 25 and January 24, respectively.
“Structuring the season in this manner will better support student-athletes by more closely matching the academic calendar and aligning with the single transfer portal window,” the AFCA said in its statement. “It also enhances the quality of play during the most meaningful period of the season by removing unnecessary breaks and preserving competitive rhythm.”
AFCA executive director Craig Bohl told ESPN that the board supports further CFP expansion, but not a specific number, acknowledging that both the 16- and 24-team models are being discussed by league commissioners.
Although finishing the 24-team playoffs so early is difficult but possible, historically there has been a push for the quarterfinals to be played on New Year’s Day, and this has proven valuable from a viewership aspect.
“We want more access,” Bohl said. “Whatever that number is, the powers that be should find it. I know some coaches supported 24. We didn’t discuss it too much. But we felt a change was needed.”
Bohl said the transfer portal, which runs from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, is a primary motivator for ending the season early so players can get to their new teams. Another factor is the length of time between postseason games, which Oregon coach Dan Lanning and others have emphasized reducing. National champion Indiana took 27 days between the Big Ten Championship Game and the CFP quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl, and then 10 more days until facing Oregon in the semifinals.
“Every university is striving for more revenue, and so this potential plan would certainly need to secure revenue,” said Bohl, the former coach at Wyoming and North Dakota State. “But players want to be able to, if they want to transfer, get to their new school and start as quickly as possible, get acclimated to the school with the coaches. We’ve seen that be problematic if your playoffs go on too long, so we feel that from a student-athletes perspective and the mentality of developing our team, we would be better served by ending the season earlier.”
The most significant proposed change is the elimination of league title games, along with moving the start of the regular season back by one week. They have held the position since 1992 for the SEC, since 1996 for the Big 12 (with a break from 2011 to 2016), since 2005 for the ACC, and since 2011 for the Big Ten.
“We just think the conference championship games have done their job, so why are we playing them?” Bohl said.
Although the AFCA does not control the college football calendar, Bohl said the board includes coaches from multiple conferences and backgrounds whose voices should resonate.
“Obviously they represent their conference, but they’re trying to do what’s best for college football,” he said. “We believe this will spark some more dialogue and conversation: Can we improve?”
