The Rose Bowl will not host a College Football Playoff semifinal over the next six seasons, opting instead to preserve its traditional New Year’s Day kickoff as the playoff finalizes its quarterfinal and semifinal schedule through the 2031 season.
The College Football Playoff last Thursday released dates and bowl assignments for quarterfinal and semifinal games from the 2028-29 through 2031-32 seasons, confirming that the Rose Bowl will remain a quarterfinal host each year while semifinals rotate among the Fiesta, Peach, Sugar, Cotton and Orange bowls.
The decision means the Rose Bowl will not return to the semifinal rotation after hosting a semifinal following the 2023 season, the final year of the four-team playoff.
Under the schedule, the Rose Bowl will host quarterfinal games on Jan. 1 in 2029, 2030, 2031 and 2032, with the exception of the 2029-30 season, when three quarterfinals, including the Rose Bowl, will be played on Jan. 1, 2030.
The Rose Bowl’s absence from the semifinal rotation reflects its desire to maintain its iconic New Year’s Day time slot rather than move to the later dates required for semifinal games.
The playoff schedule also includes previously announced dates for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
In both years, the Rose Bowl will host a quarterfinal on Jan. 1, while the semifinals will be played nearly two weeks later at other bowl sites.
The 2026-27 season also marks a scheduling change, with the first quarterfinal moving to Dec. 30 instead of New Year’s Eve. The adjustment avoids competing with National Football League broadcasts because New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday this year.
The schedules announced Thursday are based on the current 12-team College Football Playoff format, although playoff leaders continue discussing possible changes beyond the 2025 season.
Beginning with the 2026 playoff, conference bowl tie-ins will no longer determine quarterfinal assignments. Instead, the top three seeds will choose their preferred bowl destinations, a change approved earlier this year by the CFP Management Committee.
The national championship for the 2026 season will be played Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Game times and television assignments for future playoff games will be announced later.
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