Big changes are coming with the debut of the first 12-team college football playoff slate.
The first round of the playoffs will take place from Dec. 20-21 with a break across Christmas in between. The tournament’s quarterfinal round will take place across New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, thus prompting the semifinal round to take place on Jan. 9 and 10.
The College Football National Championship game will then be played on Monday, Dec. 20, which is a big change from the Jan. 8 date that the 2023 championship game was played on.
While the vast majority of the tournament will be taking place on ESPN, two first-round games will be broadcast on TNT Sports after the network acquired the rights to broadcast the games on May 22.
After ten years of the four-team playoff system, the 2024 season will introduce the debut of the 12-team playoff tournament. The top five conference champions will automatically qualify for the tournament while the top four conference champions receive a bye in the first round. The 5th through 8th ranked teams will host their first-round matchup while teams 9-12 will be on the road.
The Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl will host quarterfinal games this season while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl host the semifinal games. The National Championship game will be played in Atlanta, GA, as will the SEC Championship game.
OFFICIAL RELEASE: The College Football Playoff has announced dates, kick times and broadcast information for the 2024-25 playoff, the first year of the expanded 12-team format.
Read more » https://t.co/Ysq0kR5NfA#CFBPlayoff 🏈🏆 pic.twitter.com/Lk6EqE37MM
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) June 5, 2024
More from RTI: Important Dates to Know for the Vols’ 2024 Football Season
College Football Playoffs First Round
Friday, Dec. 20 – 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 21 – 12:00 Noon ET on TNT
Saturday, Dec. 21 – 4:00 p.m. ET on TNT
Saturday, Dec. 21 – 8:00 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
College Football Playoffs Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl – Tuesday, Dec. 31 – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Peach Bowl – Wednesday, Jan. 1 – 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
Rose Bowl – Wednesday, Jan. 1 – 5:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
Sugar Bowl – Wednesday, Jan. 1 – 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN
College Football Playoffs Semifinals
Orange Bowl – Thursday, Jan. 9 – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Cotton Bowl – Friday, Jan. 10 – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
College Football Playoffs Championship
National Championship (Atlanta) – Monday, Jan. 20 – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Tennessee Volunteers will begin year four of the Josh Heupel era on Aug. 31 against Chattanooga in Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium.
