Report: ESPN, NFL want CFP to move playoff dates
ESPN and the National Football League are urging the College Football Playoff committee to change its game dates, reportsSports Business Journal’s John Ourand and Michael Smith.
According to the report, ESPN executives want CFP officials to move next season’s semifinals from New Year’s Eve due to competition with countdown shows on other networks.
This year’s semifinal games between Oregon and Florida State in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl with Ohio State and Alabama were played on Jan. 1.
But Sports Business Journal reports that the College Football Playoff may be unwilling to make the change.
“We’ve started a new tradition and we don’t want to back away from it now,” Bill Hancock, the College Football Playoff executive director said.
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Next year’s semifinals at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl are scheduled for Dec. 31, but ESPN wants those games moved to Jan. 2. The games cannot be played on Jan. 1 because the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are locked in to New Year's Day.
The national championship is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 11, to be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the site of Super Bowl XLIX.
That could cause conflict because of the NFL’s desire to potentially expand its postseason and possibly stage a Monday night wild-card game.
“We picked Monday night because it was open and it was the best night for our game. We announced that in June 2012,” Hancock said. “We established that our game was going to be on Monday night for 12 years.”
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