The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971.
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only by the Rose Bowl Game.
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in a national championship game. The system was in place from the 1998 season to the 2013 season and was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff (CFP).
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tournament to determine an annual national champion, instead relying on a vote by sportswriters or coaches. In place of such a playoff, cities developed regional festivals featuring bowls. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals. Despite moves to establish a permanent system to determine the FBS national champion on the field — such as the Bowl Coalition from 1992 to 1994, the Bowl Alliance from 1995 to 1997, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) from 1998 to 2013, and the College Football Playoff (CFP) from 2014 through the present — some bowls are still held.
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season as a standalone event rotated among the host sites of the aforementioned bowls.
The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation, and are considered the most elite conferences within that tier. Power conferences have provided most of the participants in the College Football Playoff (CFP) and its predecessors, and generally have larger revenue, budgets, and television viewership than other college athletic programs. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) are currently recognised as power conferences.
The teams that participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision earn the right to compete in a series of post-season games called bowl games. As of 2024, there are 42 bowl games, and all are contractually obligated to offer bids to specific conferences, a situation known as a "tie-in". The "top" six bowl games in the nation select their teams as part of the College Football Playoff (CFP), which was put into place for a minimum of 12 years, beginning with the 2014 season. Prior to 2014, the top five games in the country were chosen under the system known as the Bowl Championship Series. The bowls outside of the CFP have individual contracts with the conferences to offer preferential bids to teams from those conferences. As long as teams are bowl eligible, they may be selected by these bowls to meet these contracts.
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only by the Rose Bowl Game.
The Plus-One system was a suggested modification to the process used by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to determine a national champion in college football.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football competition in the United States. It culminates in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. The CFP Board of Managers voted in 2023 to expand the playoff to twelve teams beginning in 2024, an arrangement that will last at least through the end of the 2025 season. After 2025, the current contract between all major entities expires and a new contract will be drawn up, with indications that additional expansion to a 14-team playoff or larger may take place at that time.
The 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season and included 35 team-competitive games and three all-star games. The games began on Saturday, December 21, 2013, and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2014 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that was played on January 6, 2014.
The 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 39 team-competitive games and four all-star games. The games began on December 20, 2014 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 12, 2015.
The 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 19, 2015, and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 11, 2016.
The 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games which completed the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 17, 2016, and aside from the all-star games ended with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 9, 2017.
The 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The ninth College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the 2022 season. It was the final game of the 2022–23 College Football Playoff (CFP) and, aside from any all-star games following after, was the culminating game of the 2022–23 bowl season. The game began at approximately 4:45 p.m. PST and was televised by ESPN.
The 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football games played to complete the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive games began in mid-December and concluded with the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 9, 2023, which was won by the Georgia Bulldogs. The all-star portion of the schedule began on January 14 and concluded on February 25, 2023.
The 2025 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game was the 91st annual playing of the Sugar Bowl and one of the quarterfinals of the 2024–25 College Football Playoff (CFP) concluding the 2024 FBS football season. The game featured two of the twelve teams chosen by the selection committee to participate in the playoff: the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish, an FBS independent, and the No. 2 seed Georgia Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The winner qualified for the Orange Bowl CFP semifinal to be played against the winner of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was originally scheduled to be played on January 1 but was postponed to the following day due to a terrorist attack in the nearby French Quarter early on the morning of New Year's Day.
The 2025 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 10, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 89th annual Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Texas Longhorns of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, who both advanced from a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game. The game began at approximately 6:30 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. The Cotton Bowl Classic was one of the 2024–25 bowl games concluding the 2024 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
The 2025–26 College Football Playoff is an upcoming single-elimination postseason tournament that will determine the national champion of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It will be the 12th edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP).
