AFCA Board Proposes 4 Changes to College Football Calendar

The American Football Coaches Association is recommending changes 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; Open week two to one in season; preserving an exclusive 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 not less than six.

The proposal comes two weeks after the NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee recommended starting the regular season earlier than Thursday, now known as Week Zero, starting with the 2027 season.

The AFCA’s plan comes in response to a longer college season with a 12-team CFP and the possibility of further playoff expansion. The most recent CFP Championship game between Indiana and Miami took place on Jan. 19, and the 2027 and 2028 title games are scheduled for Jan. 25 and Jan. 24, respectively.

“Structuring the season in this way will better support student-athletes by more closely matching the academic calendar and aligning with the single transfer portal window,” AFCA said in its statement. “It improves the quality of play during the most meaningful stretch of the season by removing unnecessary breaks and preserving the 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.

“We want to have more access,” Bohl said. “Whatever that number is, the powers that be should find out. I know some coaches have favored 24. We haven’t discussed it much. But we felt a change was needed.”

Bohl said the transfer portal, which runs from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, is an early motivator to finish the season early, so players can move to their new teams. Another factor is the length of time between postseason games, which Oregon coach Dan Lanning and others have pushed to reduce. National champion Indiana went 27 days between the Big Ten Championship Game and the CFP quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl, and then another 10 days until they faced Oregon in the semifinals.

“Every university is striving for more revenue, and so this potential plan must secure revenue,” said Bohl, a former coach at Wyoming and North Dakota State. “But if players want to transfer, they want the ability to go to a new school and start as soon as possible, get acclimated to the school with the coach. We’ve just seen that it’s going to be problematic if you get really deep into the playoffs, so we think from a student-athlete perspective and the mentality of building your squad, we’re better served later in the season.”

The most significant proposed change, with the regular season starting in a week, is the elimination of league title games. They have been for the SEC since 1992, the Big 12 since 1996 (with a break from 2011 to 2016), the ACC since 2005, and the Big Ten since 2011.

“We just think that conference championship games run their course, 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 different 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 it will encourage some more dialogue and conversation: Can we improve?”