College Football fans out there are advised regarding the change of dates. All College Footbal Playoff semi-final games are being changed.
Moving forward, reports have indicated that the semi-final games will be played on Saturdays or holidays instead. The move was necessary after finding out that the sports ratings plummeted on New Year's Eve last season.
Starting 2018, the dates have been changed for the semis. Including the 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025 seasons. According to ESPN.Go, the drop in viewership was something to consider. CFP Executive Director Bill Hancok announced that the change is an alternative. "Once we settled on this as the best possible alternative, then the rest of the dominoes fell," he said.
He did hear some feedback about staying with it or leaving it off the table. Eventually, he decided to go with the change. Later on, after the national championship game, Hancock said that the CFP realized it needed to review everything and find out if everybody can move forward. The CFP and Hancock reviewed the data and carefully considered what to do next. "We had tried to do something special on New Year's Eve, but we could do better. I'm so happy because this is so great for the fans."
The change will not be a major hindrance though. The Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls will host semifinal games through at least the 2024 season.
For this season, the semis will be played on December 31 - Saturday. For now, those are the changes that the CFP is making. They might consider having the semis on different days too but that has not been thoroughly discussed and studied yet. Aside from viewerships, they also need to consider the preparation of each team participating.
Are you a college football fan? Tell us which team you are rooting for and how do you feel about the changes in the dates by sounding off in the comments section.
Missing football already? Check out the CFP game between Alabama and Clemson below:
