CFP Issues Statement in Support of Individual Conferences Allowing the Return to College Football of Players with Pro Draft or Roster Ties

IRVING, Texas – The College Football Playoff (CFP) today, September 4, issued the following statement in support of the positions and rules of individual conferences concerning the return to college of athletes with professional draft, contract or roster ties: “The CFP strongly supports the positions and rules of individual conferences concerning the return to college of athletes with professional draft, contract or roster ties. These conference rules are intended to protect the needs, interests and integrity of the sport. The CFP believes that certain clear rules should be followed so that individual institutions fielding FBS football teams know what will be expected of them, and so that the public can have full confidence in the competitive integrity of the sport. Given the ongoing legal proceedings, we will not have further comments on the matter at this time.” -CFP

About the College Football Playoff:

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the competition that crowns the true national champion in college football. The format of the CFP is built on a 12-team bracket. The 12 participating schools are the conference champions from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Southeastern Conference and the highestranked team from the American, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West, Pac-12 Conference or Sun Belt Conference, along with the next seven highestranked teams. The University of Notre Dame will be included in the playoff if it is ranked among the top 12 teams in the final CFP rankings. Four CFP First-Round games are played on host campuses, followed by the CFP Quarterfinals and CFP Semifinals, which rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The CFP National Championship will be on Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. For additional information on the CFP, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.