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| College Football Playoff National Championship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stadium | Various |
| Operated | 2014–present |
| Championship affiliation | Winners of the CFP semifinals |
| Preceded by | |
| 2023 season matchup | |
| Michigan vs. Washington (Michigan 34–13) | |
| 2024 season matchup | |
| (January 20, 2025) | |
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season.[1] The game is held on the second Monday of January and serves as the final game of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the top five ranked conference champions, and the top 7 ranked at-large teams in the country that are selected by a playoff committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and then its similar BCS National Championship Game.
The participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semifinal games, hosted by an annual rotation of bowls commonly known as the New Year's Six. Thus, the teams to compete in the final are not directly selected by a selection committee, as had been the format used for the BCS National Championship Game.
The game is played at a neutral site, determined through bids by prospective host cities (similar to the NCAA Final Four). When announcing it was soliciting bids for the 2016 and 2017 title games, playoff organizers noted that the bids must propose host stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000 spectators,[2] and cities cannot host both a semi-final game and the title game in the same year.[3]
The winner of the game is awarded the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, which is sponsored by Dr Pepper.[4] It was created as a new championship trophy, rather than the "crystal football" that has been given by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) since 1986, as officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system.[5]
The inaugural game was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on January 12, 2015, and was won by Ohio State.[6] A top-ranked team did not win the College Football Playoff National Championship until LSU won the sixth edition of the game, in January 2020. Alabama has the most appearances in a College Football Playoff National Championship, with six, and also the most wins, with three.
The College Football Playoff National Championship is not awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The highest level of college football that the NCAA awards a championship in is the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
- ^ Wolken, Dan (April 25, 2013). "Questions and answers for the College Football Playoff". USA Today. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ Jerry Hinnen (August 7, 2013). "CFB playoff opens bidding for 2016, '17 championship games". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- ^ Brett McMurphy (July 26, 2013). "More bids on future title game sites". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
- ^ Anthony Crupi (March 25, 2014). "ESPN Inks Dr Pepper as First Mega-Sponsor of the College Football Playoff Series". Adweek. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- ^ Dennis Dodd (July 23, 2013). "New College Football Playoff will reportedly feature a new trophy". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ McMurphy, Brett (January 7, 2013). "Arlington to host title game". ESPN. Retrieved April 25, 2013.