The College Football Playoff semifinal games will be played on New Year's Eve no longer, starting in 2018. On Thursday, the College Football Playoff announced that the semifinal games would be moved from New Year's Eve. With the new adjustment, all semifinals games will be played on Saturdays or holidays. The CFP's executive director Bill Hancock told the USA Today exclusively that they have decided to change the dates of the Playoff semifinals in four of seven years when those games were scheduled for Dec. 31. Now, these games will instead be played on the preceding Saturday. The other three years, New Year's Day falls on Saturday — or is designated a Federal holiday.
"We tried to do something special with New Year's Eve, even when it fell on a weekday." Hancock said via the official release. "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 move likely was made, in part, due to the poor ratings this year's New Year's Eve semifinals received, as opposed to the blockbuster numbers the first-ever semis put up in 2015. The 2015 semis made for the largest audiences in cable television history. The future playoff schedule is below, courtesy of USA Today. Again: This year's schedule will remain on New Year's Eve.
College Football Playoff schedule
2016-17
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 31 Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl
Championship: Monday, Jan. 9, Tampa
2017-18
Semifinals: Monday, Jan. 1 Rose, Sugar
Championship: Monday, Jan. 8, Atlanta
2018-19
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 29, Cotton, Orange
Championship: Monday, Jan. 7, Santa Clara, Calif.
2019-20
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 28, Fiesta, Peach
Championship: Monday, Jan. 13, New Orleans
2020-21
Semifinals: Friday, Jan. 1, Rose, Sugar
Championship: Monday, Jan. 11, site TBD
2021-22
Semifinals: Friday, Dec. 31, Orange, bowl TBD
Championship: Monday, Jan. 10, site TBD
2022-23
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 31, bowls TBD
Championship: Monday, Jan. 9, site TBD
2023-24
Semifinals: Monday, Jan. 1, Rose, Sugar
Championship: Monday, Jan. 8, site TBD
2024-25
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 28, Orange, bowl TBD
Championship: Monday, Jan. 13, site TBD
2025-26
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 27, bowls TBD
Championship: Monday, Jan. 12, site TBD
