OVERVIEW
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is a postseason event to determine college football’s national champion on the field, while emphasizing the significance of college football’s unique regular season where every game counts.
RANKINGS
The selection committee ranks the teams based on the members’ evaluation of the teams’ performance on the field, using conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and comparison of results against common opponents to decide among teams that are comparable.
TRADITION
The New Year’s holiday period belongs to college football, with two Playoff Semifinal games rotating annually among the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl.
CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY
The two teams that win the Playoff Semifinals compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship. The national championship game is in a different city each year, always on a Monday night.
UNIVERSAL ACCESS
Every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team has equal access to the College Football Playoff based on its performance during the regular season. No team automatically qualifies.
GOVERNANCE
University presidents and chancellors from all 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame serve as the board of managers and govern the administrative operations, with commissioners and Notre Dame athletics director (the Management Committee) managing the event. A small staff in the CFP office in Irving, Texas, carries out the day-to-day responsibilities.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
A talented group of 13 high-integrity individuals with experience as coaches, student-athletes, college administrators and journalists, along with sitting athletics directors, comprise the selection committee. Members of the committee are Mitch Barnhart, Tom Burman, Boo Corrigan (chair), Rick George, Chet Gladchuk, Jim Grobe, Warde Manuel, Will Shields, Gene Taylor, Joe Taylor, John Urschel, Rod West and Kelly Whiteside.
SELECTION COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
- Rank the top 25 teams and assign the top four to Playoff Semifinal sites.
- Assign teams to selected New Year’s bowls.
- Create competitive matchups.
- Attempt to avoid rematches of regular-season games and repeat appearances in specific bowls.
- Consider geography.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWLS
Both participants in the Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls are contracted outside the playoff arrangement (Big Ten and Pac-12 to Rose Bowl Game; SEC and Big 12 to Sugar Bowl; ACC to Orange Bowl against the highest-ranked available team from the SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame). If a conference champion qualifies for the playoff, then the bowl will choose a replacement from that conference. When those bowls host the Playoff Semifinals and their contracted conference champions do not qualify, then the displaced champion(s) will play in one of the other New Year’s bowls.
When not hosting Playoff Semifinals, the Cotton, Fiesta and Peach bowls will welcome the highest-ranked teams, any displaced conference champions, and the top-ranked champion from a non-contract conference. The highest-ranked available teams will fill any other berths. The selection committee will make the pairings.
