CFP 12-team playoff game dates announced

Image: College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff (CFP) (US) announced on May 2^nd the game dates and bowl assignments for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons.

‘College Football Playoff’ stated that the new dates are the next step in the transition to a 12-team playoff format set to begin in 2024.

Irving (US)-based the College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football competition in the United States.

Indianapolis (US)-based the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student-athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
 

The new schedule will be as follows:

 

2024 Season

 

First Round (On-Campus)

• December 20^th, 2024: One Game (evening); and
• December 21^st, 2024: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening).

 

Quarterfinals

• December 31^st, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening); and
• January 1^st, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and AllState Sugar Bowl (evening).

 

Semifinals

• January 9^th, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening); and
• January 10^th, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening).

 

CFP National Championship

• January 20^th, 2025: At the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia;

 

2025 Season

 

First Round (On-campus

• December 19^th, 2025: One Game (evening); and
• December 20^th, 2025: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening).

 

Quarterfinals

• December 31^st, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening); and
• January 1^st, 2026: Capital One Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and AllState Sugar Bowl (evening).

 

Semifinals

• January 8^th, 2026: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening); and
• January 9^th, 2026: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (evening).

 

CFP National Championship

• January 19^th, 2026: At the 65,326-capacity Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida.

 
Exact kickoff time for each game will be announced later.

Shared Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff (CFP), “We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today (May 2^nd). We appreciate the efforts of all the parties involved in finalizing this schedule. This is the next significant step in bringing clarity to the launch of the 12-team playoff format in 2024. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an important milestone along the way.”

‘College Football Playoff’ further stated that on September 2^nd, 2022, the CFP Board of Managers originally voted to expand the current four-team playoff into a 12-team playoff beginning with the 2026 season. Following additional discussions, it was then announced on December 1^st, 2022, that the expanded playoff format would begin with the 2024 season.

The field of 12 teams will comprise the six Conference champions ranked highest by the selection committee (no minimum ranking requirement), plus the six highest-ranked other teams. The ranking of the teams will continue to be done by a selection committee whose size, composition and method of selection will remain substantially unchanged from the current arrangement. The four highest-ranked Conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution.

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