CFP willing to consider moving semifinals off New Year’s Eve

Ohio State fans – and college football fans in general – anxious about having to balance New Year’s Eve celebrations and the pursuit of the national championship in the future could have good news on the horizon.

The news comes after last year’s contests in which TV ratings for the semifinals took a major hit, dropping 40 percent.

That is because College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock told reporters at SEC Media Days today the semifinals could be moved to a new date.

“We will be exploring whether there is a better way for those semifinals”, Hancock said.

The first College Football Playoff after the 2014 season drew record television ratings for ESPN when the semifinals were played on New Year’s Day. The semifinals return to New Year’s Day after the 2017 season (Jan. 1, 2018).

In the meantime, Hancock said the games will be moved back an hour (from 4 p.m.to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.to 7 p.m. ET, respectively) so viewers will be able to watch the games and plan their normal New Year’s Eve festivities. Neither the Clemson-Oklahoma game nor Michigan State-Alabama matchup in the Cotton Bowl were close in the fourth quarter.

When the announcement of the Playoff on New Year’s Eve was first made, it seemed like a very good idea.

Hancock says alternatives to New Year’s Eve are being explored.

This year’s semifinals will be played at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.