12-team CFP schedule includes New Year's Day tripleheaders

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FILE - The championship trophy stands on a table during a news conference ahead of the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game between Georgia and TCU, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. The first-round games of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will be played on Friday night and Saturday of the third week of December 2024, and the semifinals will be played in early January on weeknights to avoid conflicting with the NFL playoffs, CFP executive director Bill Hancock confirmed on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

The College Football Playoff released on Tuesday a schedule for the 12-team format that will be used in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, which will feature New Year's Day quarterfinal tripleheaders but no games played on Saturday.

CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said last week after the board of managers had met in Dallas that the calendar had been decided upon. The final piece was placing games and sites on the dates.

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For the 2024 season, the first-round games played at campus sites are slated to start with one Friday, Dec. 20. Three more games will be played on campuses on Saturday, Dec. 21.

The quarterfinals are scheduled to be held at bowl sites on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The Fiesta Bowl will be played on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 31. The Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls will host quarterfinal games on Wednesday, Jan. 1, played in that order.

The semifinals are set for Thursday night, Jan. 9, 2025, at the Orange Bowl and Friday, Jan. 10 at the Cotton Bowl. The championship game is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The CFP schedule for the 2025 season, with opening rounds are set from Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20.

The Cotton Bowl is set to be a quarterfinal on New Year's Eve. The New Year's Day tripleheader will be at the Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls.

The semifinals are scheduled for the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, and the next day at the Peach Bowl. The championship game is set for Monday, Jan. 19 at Miami Gardens, Florida.

This upcoming season will be the last in which the CFP uses a four-team format.

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