AFCA recommends elimination of conference championship games

Field Level Media|published: Tue 5th May, 20:36 2026

Jan 24, 2026; Bloomington, IN, USA; A general view of the National Championship trophy and the Coaches Trophy Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, during the Indiana Football College Football Playoff National Championship celebration and parade at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The American Football Coaches Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending a number of changes to the college football schedule.

"The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has identified the length of the college football season as a critical issue that needs to be addressed," the statement began. "As we modernize our game to better serve student-athletes, we have fallen short in structuring a season that concludes in a timely and sustainable way."

Most notably, the AFCA recommends that the season is concluded no later than the second Monday in January. That's over a week prior to the current schedule, which saw this year's Indiana-Miami national championship game played on Jan. 19.

Additionally, the AFCA recommended the elimination of conference championship games, the reduction of scheduled bye weeks from two to one and the reduction of minimum number of days between games to six.

While the AFCA is pushing for an earlier finish to the season, it also recommended further expansion of the College Football Playoff to the maximum number of participants while sticking to the proposed season completion date.

The Big Ten unsuccessfully argued this past cycle for expansion of the CFP, which has been 12 teams the last two seasons, to 24 teams.

--Field Level Media