Report of Taylor Swift Performing at Halftime of CFP Championship Denied

ESPN refuted rumors Taylor Swift will be the halftime performer during the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 8, which will be played at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"Reports of Taylor Swift performing at the College Football Playoff National Championship are inaccurate," the network said in a statement (via USA Today's Scott Gleeson). "We are pleased that Taylor chose ESPN and ABC's college football coverage as a platform to debut her new song "...Ready For It?" However, there is nothing more to announce at this time."

Entertainment Tonight's Antoinette Bueno‍ spoke to a source who said Swift will give the performance at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta and that ESPN will help debut songs from her upcoming album Reputation, which releases Nov. 10, over the course of the 2017 season.

ESPN used Swift's first single from Reputation, "Look What You Made Me Do," in its promotion for the Alabama Crimson Tide's opening-week victory over the Florida State Seminoles last Saturday.

Unlike the Super Bowl, the national championship halftime show has been traditionally reserved for the marching bands of the respective schools in the game, rather than a headline act such as Swift.

The Associated Press' Ralph D. Russo reported in May that ESPN and the College Football Playoff planned to have a halftime concert outside of the stadium that would complement the halftime show inside the stadium.

"This will be a win-win, enhancing the viewing experience for a broad section of fans at home and in the park, while maintaining the culture of the game inside the stadium," CFP executive director Bill Hancock said of the change.

Should she perform in Atlanta, it will be Swift's second concert in conjunction with a major sporting event in as many years. She took part in a concert the night before Super Bowl 51 in Houston.