The College Football Playoff won’t have to compete with New Year’s Eve parties for viewers after this season — that is, at least until 2021. The CFP announced Thursday it would move football’s final four from Dec. 31 dates at the end of the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons.
College Football Playoff will avoid scheduling semifinals on New Year’s Eve after all
Football fans won’t have to choose between watching the Playoff and New Year’s parties next year.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Playoff semifinals, a rotating mixture of prestigious bowl games, will now take place only on weekends or national holidays. This move is aimed at making these marquee showdowns more accessible for viewers. The games will remain on New Year’s Eve in 2021 and 2022, but those dates coincide with a federal holiday and a Saturday, respectively.
CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock suggested the shift was “the right thing to do for our fans.”
We tried to do something special with New Year’s Eve, even when it fell on a weekday. But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed.
The Playoff came under fire for scheduling some of the biggest games of the college football season on the same night many Americans celebrate the last gasp of the calendar year. With the majority of Dec. 31 dates falling on weekdays, many interested fans had their attention pulled away by work during the early semifinal and then by parties for the late game. As a result, television ratings dropped catastrophically, falling by as much as 45 percent in some markets.
This isn’t the first concession the CFP has made with regards to holiday scheduling. The committee moved the start time of its marquee semifinal bowl games up by an hour in hopes of luring back television viewers.
At first, Hancock remained steadfast that a budding New Year’s Eve Playoff tradition would emerge. In March, he told the press there were no plans to move the two bowl games from Dec. 31. Now, he and the CFP committee have taken the extra step of avoiding that New Year’s Eve conflict entirely.
Here’s what the schedule looks like through 2025.
2016-17: Saturday, Dec. 31, Fiesta and Peach
2017-18: Monday, Jan. 1, Rose and Sugar
*2018-19: Saturday, Dec. 29, Cotton and Orange
*2019-20: Saturday, Dec. 28, Fiesta and Peach
2020-21: Friday, Jan. 1, Rose and Sugar
2021-22: Friday, Dec. 31, Orange and Bowl TBD
2022-23: Saturday, Dec. 31, Bowls TBD
2023-24: Monday, Jan. 1, Rose and Sugar
*2024-25: Saturday, Dec. 28, Orange and Bowl TBD
*2025-26: Saturday, Dec. 27, Bowls TBD
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