Group of Five conferences
In college football, the Group of Five are five athletic conferences whose members are part of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The five conferences are the American Athletic Conference (American or AAC), Conference USA (CUSA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MW or MWC) and Sun Belt Conference (SBC).
These conferences are considered less prestigious and are generally perceived to have lower quality of play compared to the Power Five conferences, although numerous Group of Five teams have upset Power Five teams in regular-season and bowl games, and the Cincinnati Bearcats appeared in the four-team College Football Playoff as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
Beginning in the 2024 season, at least one Group of Five conference champion is guaranteed entry to the College Football Playoff, as the top six ranked conference champions automatically advance to the playoff.