College Football Playoff to ‘rock’ Miami

Article posted by Coliseum, August 19^th, 2022

Image: Orange Bowl Committee (LinkedIn)

The College Football Playoff announced recently that Miami will host the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 5^th, 2026 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, US.

‘Orange Bowl Committee’ stated that this will be the 22^nd college football national championship hosted in South Florida, and the second since the College Football Playoff era began in 2014. Miami hosted the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Ohio State, though attendance was limited due to the adverse impact of the pandemic which had the United States in the throes.

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

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The College Football Playoff National Championship is a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season.

The 65,326-capacity Hard Rock Stadium is a multipurpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida, US. The stadium is the home field of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami’s NCAA Division I college football team.

‘Orange Bowl Committee’ further stated that the first 20 South Florida national championship games were hosted by the Orange Bowl Committee (non-profit organization in Miami Lakes, Florida), most recently the 2013 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship between Alabama and the University of Notre Dame.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created five bowl game matchups involving 10 of the top-ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.

The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff.

The Orange Bowl Committee led the community-wide bid effort to host the 2026 game along with the region’s counties, municipalities, tourism bureaus, chambers of commerce, local universities, and others.

Said Jack Seiler, Chair of the 2026 Host Committee, “We are truly honored that the College Football Playoff has selected Miami as the site of the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship. Our region is a premier destination for major sporting events, and we are excited to have South Florida shine in the national spotlight once again. Following our successful hosting of the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship through the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19, we immediately became focused on the next viable opportunity to once again bring college football’s most prestigious event back to our community with a complete championship experience and a capacity crowd at the spectacular Hard Rock Stadium.”

Stated Frank Gonzalez, President and Chair of the Orange Bowl Committee, “We are elated to be able to bring the College Football Playoff National Championship back to our community in 2026. While this was truly a collaborative effort of many entities, we felt that it was important for the Orange Bowl Committee to once again lend our many years of experience and expertise in leading this collective championship bid effort.”

Added Tom Garfinkel, Vice-Chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, “Steve Ross privately invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make the Hard Rock Stadium a premier venue for the world’s biggest events and bringing another college football National Championship here to South Florida is a testament to that vision and commitment. We look forward to working with the Miami Host Committee and the College Football Playoff to deliver a world-class event for the teams, fans and partners.”

Said Bill Hancock, Executive Director, College Football Playoff, “We are delighted to be returning to Miami. South Florida was a great host for the 2021 national championship game despite the event being scaled back because of COVID-19, and we look forward to returning in 2026 with a full complement of events and activities during national championship weekend. The first-class stadium, convention center, hotels, and supportive people in South Florida made the decision to return quite easy. The College Football Playoff National Championship has become one of the most popular sporting events in the United States in a short period of time, and we look forward to a terrific celebration in Miami in 2026.”

Stated Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, “From our history of hosting some of College Football’s greatest moments, to our beautiful beaches, our rich and diverse culture, and our top-rated restaurants, Miami-Dade is a perfect destination for football fans. We will be proud to once again showcase all we have to offer to the student- athletes, coaches, fans, and all those who join us here in January of 2026.”

The 2026 College Football National Championship will be the 12^th under the College Football Playoff which began with the 2015 game in Arlington, Texas. The 2023 game will be played in Los Angeles and 2024 in Houston.

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