College Football Playoff Confirms Dates For Expanded 2024, 2025 Playoffs
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 07:55PM By Barry Janoff
May 2, 2023: The College Football Playoff Board of Managers today confirmed the game dates and bowl assignments for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons.
“The new dates are the next step in the transition to a 12-team playoff format set to begin in 2024,” according to the Board of Managers.
The four quarter-final games and two semifinal games each season are scheduled to be played mid-week to avoid NFL weekend playoff games in December and January.
There will be a triple-header on Jan. 1, 2025 and on Jan. 1. 2026.
Kickoff times for all the games are TBD.
The 2024 season CFP National Championship is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta.
The 2025 season CFP National Championship is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
The CFB National Championship for the 2023 season is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024 in NRG Stadium, Houston (ESPN). It will culminate the last season in which the College Football Playoff uses a four-team format.
“We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today," Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said via the organization.
“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."
The field of 12 teams will be comprised of 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.
On Sept. 2, 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 unveiled on Dec. 1, 2022, that the expanded playoff format would begin with the 2024 season.
2025 College Football Playoff
First round (On-campus sites)
• Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game (evening)
• Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
Quarterfinals
• Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl, (late afternoon) and Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals
• Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Orange Bowl (evening)
• Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Cotton Bowl (evening)
CFP National Championship
• Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
2026 College Football Playoff
First round (On-campus sites)
• Friday, Dec. 19, 2025: One Game (evening)
• Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
Quarterfinals
• Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025: Cotton Bowl (evening)
• Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026: Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon) and Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals
• Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026: Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Friday, Jan. 9, 2026: Peach Bowl (evening)
CFP National Championship
• Monday, Jan. 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
CFB Playoff Committee Eyes Championship Cities: Atlanta 2025, Miami 2026
Forward Progress: New Deal Enables CFB Expanded Playoffs To Begin In ’24
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