After little more than a week to navigate from the quarterfinals to the semifinals of the first two iterations of the 12-team College Football Playoff, the CFP on Tuesday announced major changes to the calendar for college football's season-ending tournament for the next two seasons.
The CFP also assigned which bowl games will host the quarterfinal and semifinal round games for the 2026-27 seasons, but it has not yet provided the exact dates of the CFP Championship to close those two seasons.
Late last month, the CFP and college leaders from around the country failed to expand the sport from its 12-team field to the 16-team proposal that had, in recent months, gained considerable momentum. The field will remain at 12 invitations through at least the upcoming season.
As for the upcoming 2026 season, the Fiesta Bowl will be host site for the initial CFP Quarterfinal on Dec. 30; the Cotton Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl all will host the remaining three quarterfinal games two days later on Jan. 1, 2027.
Then, there will be a two-week break between the quarters and the semifinals -- the longest such stretch in the 12-team field's brief history. The Orange Bowl will host one CFP Semifinal on Jan. 14; the Sugar Bowl will host the opposite side of the bracket on Jan. 15.
The two-week break is significantly longer than either of the first two years; this past season saw the quarterfinalists playing games on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day before then traveling to the semifinals being held eight to nine days later on Jan. 8-9.
“These dates allow us to maintain competitive balance, maximize the fan experience, and provide consistency for everyone involved in the Playoff,” Rich Clark, former United States Air Force Academy Superintendent and Executive Director of the CFP, said in the organization's statement. “I also want to thank our bowl partners and their local communities for the incredible work, collaboration, and commitment they’ve shown throughout the first two years of the expanded playoff.
"The bowl games and the people behind them embraced change, delivered at the highest level, and helped ensure the expanded format was a success for student-athletes, fans, and the sport.”
In the 2024 CFP, the sport's first-ever 12-team field at the Football Bowls Subdivision level, the quarterfinal games were played Dec. 31-Jan. 2, 2025 and then the semifinal contests were held Jan. 9-10. That window was shrunk even more for Notre Dame, which saw its Sugar Bowl date against Georgia delayed by a day because of the terror attack on the French Quarter in New Orleans. The Irish defeated Georgia on Jan. 2 and then knocked off Penn State seven days later to advance to the CFP Championship opposite eventual national champion Ohio State.
The 2027 dates also were revealed Tuesday, with quarterfinal contests set for Dec. 31, 2027 and Jan. 1, 2028; the semifinal games will be played on Jan. 13-14.
For the quarterfinals, the Sugar Bowl kicks things off on Dec. 31 while the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl have the remaining three quarterfinals on New Year's Day.
The CFP Semifinals will be held Jan. 13-14 at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, respectively.
The CFP National Championship is expected to be Jan. 25, 2027, for the upcoming season and Jan. 24, 2028, for the ensuing year. The CFP said it would release additional details, such as broadcast assignments and kickoff times, at a later date.