Evolution of the College Football Playoff: A Comprehensive History

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual invitational tournament that determines the national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. In 2023, the CFP Board of Managers voted to expand the playoff to 12 teams beginning in 2024.

Genesis of the College Football Playoff

The move to the College Football Playoff was a gradual process, driven by the desire to create a more definitive and less controversial method of crowning a national champion.

Early Attempts at a Championship System

College football is one of the oldest organized sports in the United States. The NCAA organized college football into University and College divisions in 1957. In 1973, the NCAA created Division I, and Divisions II and III. In 1978, Division I was sub-divided into I-A (FBS) and I-AA, later renamed FCS. However, FBS programs resisted changes to the post-season due to the popularity and profitability of bowl games.

The Bowl Coalition and Alliance

As public pressure for a playoff grew, especially following seasons in which there were split national championships in the polls, the sport underwent several changes. The 1992 SEC Championship Game was an enormous risk that paid off well for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that year and in future years and gave a glimpse at what post-season football might look like. FBS schools also began making changes to bowl games themselves in the 1990s to increase the likelihood of having the top two ranked teams play each other. Existing bowl tie-ins with conferences made arrangements such as the Bowl Coalition (1992-1994) and then Bowl Alliance (1995-1997) clumsy and incomplete at best.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS)

The Bowl Championship Series in 1998 succeeded in finally bringing all major conferences and bowl games into the fold for a combined BCS National Championship Game rotated amongst the four largest, most profitable bowl games - Fiesta, Orange, Rose, and Sugar. BCS rankings originally incorporated the two major polls as well as a number of computer ranking systems to determine the two best teams at the end of the season. Although the BCS era did regularly produce compelling matchups, the winnowing selection of the top two teams resulted in many BCS controversies, most notably 2003's split national championship caused by the BCS rankings leaving USC, No. 1 in both major polls, out of the Sugar Bowl. This controversy ultimately led to the AP Poll withdrawing from the BCS, and additional fine-tuning of the BCS formula.

The Four-Team Era (2014-2023)

In 2014, the College Football Playoff made its debut, facilitating a multi-game single-elimination tournament for the first time in college football history. Four teams are seeded by a 13-member selection committee rather than by existing polls or mathematical rankings. The Cotton and Peach bowls were also brought into the fold.

Selection Committee and Rankings

A 13-member committee selected and seeded the teams to take part in the CFP. This system differs from the use of polls or computer rankings that had previously been used to select the participants for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

Committee Composition and Process

The committee members include one current athletic director from each of the four major conferences-ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC-also known as the Power conferences. Other members are former coaches, players, athletic directors, and administrators, plus a retired member of the media. Committee members who are currently employed or financially compensated by a school, or have family members who have a current financial relationship (which includes football players), are not allowed to vote for that school. During deliberations about a team's selection, members with such a conflict of interest cannot be present, but can answer factual questions about the institution.

Weekly Rankings

It was determined that the selection committee would compile rankings seven times during the season, including selection Sunday. The rankings were to be announced Tuesday evenings beginning October 28. The CFP conducted mock selection exercises with representatives of the media, and, two weeks later, with ESPN announcers, producers and directors.

Voting Methodology

The committee's voting method uses multiple ballots, similar to the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and the entire process is facilitated through custom software developed by Code Authority in Frisco, Texas. From a large initial pool of teams, the group takes numerous votes on successive tiers of teams, considering six at a time and coming to a consensus on how they should be ranked, then repeating the process with the next tier of teams. Discussion and debate happens at each voting step.

Read also: Phoenix Suns' New Center

Bowl Game Rotation

From its formation in 2014 to the end of the 2023 season, the College Football Playoff used a four-team knockout bracket to determine the national champion. Six bowl games-the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Peach Bowl- rotated as hosts for the semifinals. The rotation was set on a three-year cycle with the following pairings: Rose/Sugar, Orange/Cotton, and Fiesta/Peach. The two semifinal bowls and the other four top-tier bowls were marketed as the New Year's Six.

Game Results of the Four-Team Era

Here's a summary of the College Football Playoff results from the four-team era:

2014-15
- Rose Bowl - No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20
- Sugar Bowl - No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35
- National Championship - No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20
2015-16
- Orange Bowl - No. 1 Clemson 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 17
- Cotton Bowl - No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0
- National Championship - No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40
2016-17

Read also: About Grossmont Community College
- Peach Bowl - No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7
- Fiesta Bowl - No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0
- National Championship - No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31
2017-18
- Rose Bowl - No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 (OT)
- Sugar Bowl - No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6
- National Championship - No. 4 Alabama 36, No. 3 Georgia 23 (OT)
2018-19
- Cotton Bowl - No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3
- Orange Bowl - No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34
- National Championship - No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16
2019-20
- Peach Bowl - No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28
- Fiesta Bowl - No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23
- National Championship - No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25
2020-21
- Rose Bowl - No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Notre Dame 14
- Sugar Bowl - No. 3 Ohio State 49, No. 2 Clemson 28
- National Championship - No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24
2021-22
- Cotton Bowl - No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6
- Orange Bowl - No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11
- National Championship - No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18
2022-23
- Fiesta Bowl - No. 3 TCU 51, No. 2 Michigan 45
- Peach Bowl - No. 1 Georgia 42, No. 4 Ohio State 41
- National Championship - No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7

Uniform Matchups in the National Championship Games

The uniform matchups in the national championship games have also been a point of interest for fans and observers.

2015: Ohio State wore the home version of its 1968 throwback uniforms, while Oregon wore a white and gray version of its apple green set. Both uniforms featured a fractal diamond Nike Swoosh.
2016: Clemson wore its orange jersey with orange britches against Alabama, which donned its standard road set.
2017: Alabama was in its standard home set while Clemson wore white jerseys with orange britches.
2020: Both LSU and Clemson donned their home uniforms. LSU wore the 2020 patch that is typically reserved for the team wearing a colored jersey on the right shoulder.
2021: Ohio State donned the road version of its throwback uniform, reminiscent of the Buckeyes’ 2002 uniforms. Alabama looked to end its two-game losing streak in its home uniform in the national championship.

Expansion to a 12-Team Playoff (2024 Onward)

From the beginning of the CFP, many within college football wanted a playoff larger than four teams. Several years of the 4-team playoff led to growing calls for expansion. In June 2021, the CFP announced that it would begin studying an expansion to a 12-team playoff. On February 18, 2022, the CFP rejected the playoff proposal that had seemed to have already won approval, largely through resistance of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This pushed implementation of any changes to the playoff pool to no sooner than the 2026 season. However, that decision was reversed on September 2, 2022, following the announcement by USC and UCLA that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. The "alliance" between the ACC, Pac-12, and Big Ten dissolved, and along with it resistance to playoff expansion. Conferences and bowls negotiated early expansion for several months during the fall of 2022.

New Format Details

The board of managers unanimously voted to expand the current four-team playoff into a 12-team playoff. The new format, consistent with a proposal the board of managers reviewed in the fall and winter of 2021-22, was to begin for the 2026 college football regular season. The board of managers unanimously agreed to begin the newly-expanded 12-team playoff in the postseason after the 2024 regular season. The first round in 2024 would take place the week ending Saturday, December 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seed institution (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8.) The 2024-25 Playoff Quarterfinals would take place in the Fiesta, Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls, while the Cotton and Orange bowls would host the Playoff Semifinals. The 2025-26 Playoff Quarterfinals would take place in the Cotton, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls, while the Fiesta and Peach bowls would host the Playoff Semifinals.

Qualifying Criteria

The board of managers revised the qualifying criteria for the 12-team playoff to include the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the selection committee. The management committee unanimously voted to modify the seeding and bye policies of the 12-team playoff for the 2025-26 season. The new policy guarantees the five highest-ranked conference champions a place in the playoff, but no longer includes a bye for the four highest-ranked champions. The 12-team bracket will be seeded directly based on the final ranking of the selection committee, with the four highest-ranked schools receiving a first-round bye.

Television Partners

ESPN and TNT Sports announced a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select CFP games from ESPN. TNT Sports would present two first-round games during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 postseasons.

Impact and Legacy

The College Football Playoff has had a significant impact on the sport, influencing scheduling strategies, conference alignments, and the overall fan experience. The move to a 12-team format is expected to further amplify these effects, creating more opportunities for teams to compete for a national championship and generating increased interest and revenue.

Strength of Schedule

"Strength of schedule will become such an important factor … Due to the increased emphasis on strength of schedule, teams have considered playing more challenging opponents during the non-conference portion of their schedules. Some teams have traditionally played three or four "weak" non-conference opponents, but wins against such low-level competition are unlikely to impress the committee. Teams in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 play nine conference games on their twelve-game schedules and thus only have flexibility in choosing their opponents for the three non-league games. In response to the new playoff system, the Southeastern Conference considered increasing its conference schedule from eight to nine games, with Alabama coach Nick Saban a vocal proponent. In April 2014, the league voted to mandate that all SEC teams must play a Power Five foe (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, or independent Notre Dame) in its non-conference slate beginning in 2016. The ACC, whose teams also play eight conference games (plus Notre Dame at least once every three years), also considered moving to a nine-game conference schedule.

Locations of Future Championship Games

The upcoming title game will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
The 2023 CFP National Championship will be played at NRG Stadium, which is home of the Houston Texans.
The 2024 title game is set for Jan. 6, 2025.
The 2025 title game is set for Jan. 5, 2026.

tags: #college #football #playoff #logo #history