The inaugural College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Day 2015 – with one matchup featuring OR and Florida State in the Rose Bowl – drew 40 percent higher ratings than last season’s semifinal slate, per USA Today. The 2017-18 semifinals will be played on New Year’s Day. “For these four years, our previous call is reversed”.
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This season’s semifinals are still set for Saturday, Dec. 31. But with New Year’s Eve on a weekday last season, it flopped, and now they’re reversing course. That doesn’t mean that New Year’s Eve is completely off the table, though.
After a ratings failure last season, future semifinals are now planned for Saturdays or federally observed holidays as the still relatively new College Football Playoff looks to rebound from a steep audience drop a year ago.
There are significant changes to the rotation, however, as the semifinal games that had been scheduled to be played on New Year’s Eve following the 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025 seasons will now be played on Saturday, Dec. 29; Saturday, Dec. 28; Saturday, December 28; and Saturday, Dec. 27, respectively.
“The Big 12 and the SEC worked to establish a contract, an agreement that that’s when (the Sugar Bowl) would be played”, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in January.
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Hancock said Thursday that the protests from fans were noted. “People love college football and they’re very opinionated about it”. I enjoy hearing their opinions. “We couldn’t have asked for a better time slot to showcase the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and Texas hospitality to fans that choose to spend part of their holiday weekend with us at AT&T Stadium in Arlington”. They want to experience these games, and we want them to.
