College Football Playoff National Championship


The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, which began play in the 2014 college football season. The game serves as the final of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the top four teams in the country as determined by a selection committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and its similar BCS National Championship Game.
Unlike the BCS championship, the participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semi-final bowls, hosted by two of the consortium's six member bowls yearly, and the top two teams as determined by the selection committee do not automatically advance to the game in lieu of other bowls. This has caused a unique side effect in that no #1 or #3 seed had won the National Championship in its first five years, with LSU becoming the first #1 seed to win the championship in 2019.
The game is played at a neutral site, determined through bids by prospective host cities. When announcing it was soliciting bids for the 2016 and 2017 title games, playoff organizers noted that the bids must propose host stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000 spectators, and cities cannot host both a semi-final game and the title game in the same year.
The winner of the game is awarded a new championship trophy instead of the "crystal football", which has been given by the American Football Coaches Association since 1986; officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system. The inaugural game was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in January 2015, and was won by Ohio State. The awarded trophy, College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, is sponsored by Dr Pepper.

Venues

The number of cities capable of bidding for the event is restricted by the 65,000-seat stadium minimum. In addition to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which was the other finalist for the 2015 matchup, the stadium restriction would limit the bidding to cities such as New Orleans, Glendale, and Pasadena. Other possible future hosts include Orlando, San Antonio, and almost any city with a National Football League franchise, since all but three of the stadiums in that league meet the capacity requirements and, unlike the Super Bowl, there is no de jure restriction on climate. Officials in New York City said they would like to host the game at Yankee Stadium, which hosts the annual Pinstripe Bowl, but it falls short of the attendance limit as it only holds approximately 54,000 fans in its football configuration.
On December 16, 2013, host selections for the 2016 and 2017 title games were announced. Glendale, Arizona was selected to host the 2016 game and Tampa, Florida was selected to host the 2017 game. Four cities had submitted bids for the 2016 game: Glendale, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Tampa. Six metropolitan areas had been vying for the 2017 game: Tampa, the San Francisco Bay Area, Minneapolis, San Antonio, South Florida, and Jacksonville.
The host for the 2020 game was announced on November 4, 2015.
The hosts for the 2021 through 2024 games were announced November 1, 2017.
Since cities hosting College Football Playoff semifinal games cannot host the championship game in the same year, Pasadena and New Orleans were not eligible for the 2018 game; South Florida and North Texas could not host in 2019; and Glendale and Atlanta were excluded from 2020 consideration. The same exclusions rotate every three years through 2026.

Game results

Rankings are from the CFP Poll released prior to matchup.

Future games

SeasonDateSite
2020January 11, 2021Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL
2021January 10, 2022Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN
2022January 9, 2023SoFi Stadium • Inglewood, CA
2023January 8, 2024NRG Stadium • Houston, TX
2024January 6, 2025TBD
2025January 5, 2026TBD

Appearances by team

AppearancesTeamWinsLossesWin %Season wonSeason lost
4Clemson Tigers football|222016, 20182015, 2019
4Alabama Crimson Tide football|222015, 20172016, 2018
1Ohio State Buckeyes football|102014
1LSU Tigers football|102019
1Oregon Ducks football|01 2014
1Georgia Bulldogs football|01 2017

Appearances by conference

MVPs

An offensive and defensive MVP is named for each championship game.

Game records

Broadcasters

Television

Radio

Local radio