CFB Playoff Announces Future Schedules for National Semifinals

The College Football Playoff announced it has decided against holding its national semifinals on New Year's Eve when it falls on a weekday, instead playing all semifinal games on Saturdays or holidays.

Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report passed along the dates for the upcoming semifinals:

Bill Hancock, the executive director of the College Football Playoff, discussed the decision:

"

We had healthy discussions with a lot of people who love college football and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans.

We tried to do something special with New Year's Eve, even when it fell on a weekday. But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed.

"

The 2021 semifinals will be an exception, as they will fall on New Year's Eve. In that particular year, however, New Year's Eve falls on a Friday and will be recognized as a federally observed holiday.

This past year's semifinals on New Year's Eve didn't generate great numbers, which could have prompted the change, according to George Schroeder of USA Today:

"

TV ratings for the last year's semifinals, played on New Year's Eve (a Thursday) dropped 40% from the 2014 semifinals, which were played on New Year's Day.

Although factors might have included ho-hum games and lessened excitement in the event's second year, ESPN recently presented in-depth data to the Playoff's management committee showing the holiday time slot was a major factor in the ratings decline. ESPN is paying $7.3 billion over 12 years for the rights to the Playoff.

"

Hancock told Schroeder many fans weren't happy the games were played on New Year's Eve:

"

I heard, 'I have to work,' or 'I wanted to go to a New Year's Eve party,' or 'I was at a party but they wouldn't let me turn the sound on.' People love college football and they're very opinionated about it. They're happy to share their opinions. I enjoy hearing their opinions.

After the study, we just feel like this is in the best interest of fans. They want to experience these games, and we want them to. And these changes for four years will allow that to happen.

"

The new change could set up a fairly long wait time between the semifinals and title game, per Schroeder, and Hancock acknowledged that changing the date of the title game hasn't been considered but could be discussed in the future.

Ultimately, however, the College Football Playoff decided that holding last year's semifinals on New Year's Eve wasn't the right decision for the future.

"Saturdays or national holidays, it's the way to go," Hancock concluded.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.