College Football Playoff refuses to move next season's semifinals
The College Football Playoff has declined to move next season's semifinals from New Year's Eve.
"We reviewed it and rejected it," Pac-12 commissioner and CFP committee member Larry Scott said, according to ESPN.com. "We like the concept that we've developed for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Going forward we think that's the right model for college football."
The semifinals cannot be played on Jan. 1 -- when they were played this season -- because the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are locked in to that date. the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, which hosted this year's semifinals, will not host the semifinals next season.
Sports Business Journalreported last month that ESPN requested the semifinals be moved from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 in order to draw a larger television audience. This year's semifinal games each had more than 28 million television viewers. If the games are played on Dec. 31, ESPN fears the number of viewers could fall by more than 10 million, SBJ reported.
• Army-Navy game could pose issue for College Football Playoff
The semifinals are scheduled to rotate between a group of six different bowl games on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 until 2026. The 2016 national championship game is scheduled to be played on Jan. 11 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
ESPN's broadcast contract to carry the Playoff runs for another 11 years.
- Dan Gartland