Playoff Sites

First Two Rounds

The first two rounds would occur at the campus sites of the higher seeded teams. Depending on the seed, here is how home-field would be determined:

A team becoming a top 8 seed would host two playoff games. A team seeded 9-16 would at least host a first round game. They would be able to host a second-round game if at least one of the top 8 seeds is eliminated in the first round. If an unseeded team defeats their seeded opponent and faces an unseeded team in the second round, home field would go to the team with the highest CFP ranking.

Final Three Rounds

After the first two rounds, the final three rounds would happen at neutral sites. The New Year’s Six Bowl Games would continue to host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, with the National Championship game happening at a pre-determined neutral site. These are the bowl games that would continue to host the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Rose Bowl

The oldest active bowl game, the Rose Bowl was first played in 1902 to help fund the cost of the Rose Bowl Parade. It was a pioneer of New Year's Day bowl games and became an annual New Year's Bowl game since 1916. It is the most prestigious of the bowl games. It was part of the BCS as well as the College Football Playoff. Regardless of whether the bowl games rotate in a 3-year, 4-year, or 5-year cycle, the Rose Bowl would become an annual semifinal game. It would kickoff on January 1 in the late afternoon EST every year (or January 2 if New Year's Falls on a Sunday).

Sugar Bowl

One of the second oldest bowl games, the Sugar Bowl was first played in 1935. It is also a prestigious bowl game. The Sugar Bowl would be a rotational bowl game that would host the second semifinal game in a 3-year, 4-year, or 5-year cycle. It was part of the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, and the College Football Playoff. As a semifinal game, it would kickoff on January 1 at night or January 2 in the early afternoon if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. While not a semifinal game, it would be a quarterfinal game that kicks off on the third weekend of December.

Orange Bowl

Also one of the second oldest bowl games, the Orange Bowl was first contested in 1935. It is also a prestigious bowl game. It was part of the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, and the College Football Playoff. The Orange Bowl would be a rotational bowl game that would host the second semifinal game in a 3-year, 4-year, or 5-year cycle. As a semifinal game, it would kickoff on January 1 at night or January 2 in the early afternoon if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. While not a semifinal game, it would be a quarterfinal game that kicks off on the third weekend of December.

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl is the youngest prestigious bowl game. It was first contested in 1971, where the bowl game attracted high quality matchups overtime. It was part of the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, and the College Football Playoff. The Fiesta Bowl would be a rotational bowl game that would host the second semifinal game in a 3-year, 4-year, or 5-year cycle. As a semifinal game, it would kickoff on January 1 at night or January 2 in the early afternoon if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. While not a semifinal game, it would be a quarterfinal game that kicks off on the third weekend of December.

Cotton Bowl Classic

The Cotton Bowl Classic is the fifth oldest active bowl game. It was first contested in 1937. It was founded in Dallas, TX and became prestigious during its early years. However, it lost its prestige in 1995, but regained it since 2014. The Cotton Bowl would be a rotational bowl game that would host the second semifinal game in a 3-year, 4-year, or 5-year cycle As a semifinal game, it would kickoff on January 1 at night or January 2 in the early afternoon if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. While not a semifinal game, it would be a quarterfinal game that kicks off on the third weekend of December.

Peach Bowl

The Peach Bowl is the second youngest prestigous bowl game. It was first contested in 1968, and was founded to fundraise the Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation. It went into a temporary rebrand as the Chick-fil-A bowl from 2007-13, and became the best-attended non-BCS bowl and sold out for 17 straight years. It became prestigious since 2014. The Peach Bowl would be a rotational bowl game that would host the second semifinal game in a 5-year cycle. As a semifinal game, it would kickoff on January 1 at night or January 2 in the early afternoon if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. While not a semifinal game, it would be a quarterfinal game that kicks off on the third weekend of December.

Putting It All Together

Basically, the New Year's Rotation would go something like this:

In Version A of the 3-Year Cycle, the rotation would have the semifinal rotation be similar to the BCS bowl rotation. The Rose Bowl would become an annual semifinal game, while the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl would rotate in a 3-year cycle to host the other semifinal game. The Cotton Bowl and Peach Bowl would become permanent quarterfinal games.

In Version B of the 3-Year Cycle, the rotation would have the semifinal rotation be similar to the 1937 major bowl rotation. While the Rose Bowl would still become an annual semifinal game, the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl would rotate in a 3-year cycle to host the other semifinal game. The Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl would become permanent quarterfinal games.

In the 4-Year Cycle, the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Fiesta Bowl would rotate to host the other semifinal game. Those four bowl games would also be guaranteed to host the quarterfinals on years when they do not host the semifinals. The Peach Bowl would become a permanent quarterfinal game.

Finally, the 5-year cycle would have Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl rotating to host the other semifinal game. All of those bowl games would also be guaranteed to host the quarterfinals on years when they do not host the semifinals.