Sources: College Football Playoff National Championship Set for Las Vegas in 2025, Miami in 2026
Joel Auerbach/Getty Images. Pictured: The College Football Playoff trophy at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
INDIANAPOLIS — While the size of future College Football Playoffs may change, one thing is certain: Las Vegas and Miami will host the 2025 and 2026 title games, sources told The Action Network.
It won’t be official until College Football Playoff officials determine whether to expand, but Las Vegas and Miami would host the title games after the 2024 and 2025 regular seasons, respectively, sources said. Those are the final two years of the current 12-year playoff contract.
Pending expansion of the playoff, Las Vegas would host the title game on Jan. 6, 2025, and Miami would host the title game on Jan. 5, 2026, sources said.
Monday’s national title game in Indianapolis marks the eighth year of the original 12-year College Football Playoff contract. Next season’s title game will be played in Los Angeles (Jan. 9, 2023) followed by Houston (Jan. 8, 2024).
In 2025, Las Vegas will become the 11th different city to host the College Football Playoff in as many years.
Besides being the first College Football Playoff title game for Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas will also host the NFL’s Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, 2024. Las Vegas will have the rare opportunity to host both the NFL and college football championships in an 11-month span.
If the playoff remains at four teams in 2024, the semifinals would be played on Dec. 28, 2024, with the championship in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2025. If the playoff expands that season, Las Vegas could host the game as late as Jan. 20, 2025, sources said.
In 2026, Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will become the only two-time host of the College Football Playoff during the original 12-year contract. Miami also hosted the title game after the 2020 season (Jan. 11, 2021), but attendance was limited to 20% capacity because of COVID-19.
College football officials wanted to award Miami another title game as soon as possible because of the financial hardships incurred by Miami during the 2020 COVID-19 season, sources said.
If the playoff remains at four teams in 2025, the semifinals would be played on Dec. 27 with the championship in Miami on Jan. 5, 2026. If the playoff has expanded, Miami could host the game as late as Jan. 19, 2026, sources said.
This weekend in Indianapolis, the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick will continue their ongoing discussions regarding potential expansion of the College Football Playoff.
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