The College Football Playoff Executive Director, Rich Clark, announced that starting in the 2025 season, they will require player availability reports. CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello reported this.
The move is a way to promote more transparency by teams in regards to player injuries and availability.
The CFP will begin requiring player availability reports, along the lines of the Big Ten and SEC have done in recent seasons, says CFP exec Rich Clark.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) June 18, 2025
The Big Ten began a similar policy in 2023, requiring teams to designate players as "questionable" or "out" two hours before kickoff.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) created a similar policy in 2024 but took it further. Starting on the Wednesday before games, teams were required to submit one of four player designations, including "out," "questionable," "probable," or "available. "
Player statues are updated daily, and the final report must be submitted no later than 90 minutes before kickoff. Teams that do not comply are subject to fines.
CBS Sports' Shakiel Majouri notes that since sports gambling became widespread, policies concerning player availability have become more important to combat insider gambling.
He noted that the Big Ten partnered with U.S. Integrity to combat illegal gambling and "prevent student-athletes, coaches, and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering."
Last season, the CFP moved to a 12-team format for the first time. After a disastrous first run with automatic byes and seeding for the top teams, the CFP playoff eliminates automatic byes and implements a straight-seeding model.
The straight-seeding model gives the highest-ranked teams in the committee's final rankings a bye to the quarterfinals instead of giving it to the highest-ranked conference champions.
The format for the 2026 CFP is still unknown as multiple changes continue being discussed.