The College Football Playoff announced on Tuesday the upcoming sites and dates for the 2024 and 2025 postseasons, which are set to be the first under the expanded 12-team format.
The field of teams will include the six conference champions (Power Five plus the highest-ranked Group of Five champion) and six at-large team, regardless of conference designation. Teams seeded Nos. 1-4 will receive a first-round bye, and the other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher-seeded team hosting on their campus.
Beginning in 2024, four first-round games will be played between Dec. 20-21 with one game on Dec. 20 and three games on Dec. 21, all hosted by the higher-seeded team. Quarterfinals will then take place on Dec. 31 (Fiesta Bowl) and Jan. 1, 2025 (Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl).
The semifinals are on Jan. 9 with the Orange Bowl and Jan. 10 with the Cotton Bowl, with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game set for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
For 2025, first-round games will be played between Dec. 19-20, with one game on Dec. 19 and three on Dec. 20, again hosted on the higher-seeded teams’ campuses. The quarterfinals will be played on Dec. 31 (Cotton Bowl) and Jan. 1, 2026 (Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl).
The semifinals will be on Jan. 8 (Fiesta Bowl) and Jan. 9 (Peach Bowl), with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game set for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today,” said Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff executive director. “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.”
