CFP Expansion Threatens HBCU Guarantee Games' Future
New College Football Playoff rules may jeopardize HBCU guarantee games, though schools say the paydays matter less than before.
Changes to the College Football Playoff structure are raising alarms about the future of guarantee games that have long provided crucial revenue for historically Black colleges and universities, according to a report by AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames. These matchups, in which HBCUs play power-conference opponents in exchange for a financial payout, have served as a financial lifeline for programs operating on considerably smaller budgets than their hosts.
The shifting CFP landscape could reduce the incentive for major programs to schedule these guarantee games, putting at risk a revenue stream that HBCU athletic departments have historically counted on to fund operations, travel, and scholarships. The concern is that as playoff qualification criteria evolve, larger programs may prioritize opponents that bolster their standings rather than games that provide community and financial benefits to smaller schools.
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Despite the potential threat, those within HBCU athletics suggest the financial stakes, while still meaningful, are not as existential as they once were. Schools and conferences have worked to diversify revenue streams and build stronger internal funding bases, reducing — though not eliminating — their dependence on guarantee-game paydays from Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
The tension highlights a broader structural inequity in college football, where HBCUs must constantly adapt to decisions made by power conferences and a playoff system designed around programs with far greater resources. Advocates argue that any CFP reform should explicitly account for the downstream financial impact on smaller, historically underserved programs that depend on access to these revenue opportunities.
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