The College Football Playoff isn’t moving from New Year’s Eve in 2016, executive director says

The second College Football Playoff semifinals took place on Dec. 31 this year, and a combination of competition from New Year’s Eve parties and two blowout games helped drop overall viewership of the games by more than one-third. Those low ratings have reportedly forced ESPN to negotiate more than $20m in make-good credits to buyers that had been promised a surefire advertising opportunity.

Despite this year’s reduced numbers, CFP executive director Bill Hancock has remained adamant that next year’s semifinals will take place on the same night as they did in 2015.

He also told reporters that “one year does not a trend make. We are not making decisions based on the [television] numbers.” Currently, the CFP semifinal games are scheduled for Dec. 31 in four of the next six years, but there’s an easy solution. He also joked that there were several other factors to consider -- although the latest Star Wars movie probably isn’t one of them.

We have to remember that we know what the factors were. A guy said to me on the phone yesterday Star Wars was a factor. People are trying to introduce new factors all the time. This guy said “the force was not with you, Bill!”

If Hancock reverses course later in the year, it would not be the first time. He previously railed against the idea of a playoff system in the FBS while he was the executive director of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).