CFP ED Bill Hancock adopts a cautious stance on conference realignment's impact on College Football Playoff

Conference realignment has completely altered the college football landscape as four of the Power Five conferences will look different in 2024. The ACC is the only conference that has not been affected by conference realignment. However, that could change in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the College Football Playoff is set to adopt a new format in 2024 as well, with the postseason field expanding from four to 12 teams. The initial plan was for the six highest-ranked conference champions and the six highest-ranked remaining teams to receive the 12 bids. It is unclear, however, how conference realignment will affect these plans, according to CFP executive director Bill Hancock.

College football insider Heather Dinich of ESPN tweeted Hancock's comments from the CFP meetings on Tuesday:

"Regarding realignment, CFP Exec. Dir. Bill Hancock said 'we're going to have to wait and see, we're gonna have to wait till the dust settles before making any decisions about how that might affect CFP.' He said 'it would be premature' repeatedly in response to several questions."

Check out Heather Dinich's tweet here.

While Hancock's answer is likely not what fans wanted to hear, there is still plenty to be determined in regards to conference realignment.

The two, seemingly, most pressing issues are related to the future of the Pac-12's remaining four schools and the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is in talks to add three schools. Furthermore, several ACC schools have reportedly been looking to leave the conference.

How has conference realignment drastically altered the college football landscape?

The first change that conference realignment has brought will take place this season as the BYU Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars and UCF Knights have joined the Big 12.

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns will leave the conference for the Southeastern Conference, while the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes will join the Big 12. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and Washington Huskies will all join the Big Ten.

The moves leave the Pac-12 with just four teams on board for next season as eight of its programs have already announced that they will leave.

Furthermore, the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal are being actively targeted by the ACC. While Pac-12 officials are hoping to rebuild the conference, they could be on the verge of falling apart altogether.