| College Football Playoff National Championship | |
| Stadium: | Various |
| Years: | 2014–present |
| Champ Affiliation: | Winners of the CFP semifinals |
| Prev Matchup Year: | 2023 season |
| Prev Matchup Season: | 2023 |
| Prev Matchup Teams: | Michigan vs. Washington (Michigan 34–13) |
| Next Matchup Year: | 2024 season |
| Next Matchup Season: | 2024 |
| Next Matchup Teams: | TBD |
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 (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season.[1] The game is held on the second Monday of January and serves as the final game 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 then its similar BCS National Championship Game.
The participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semifinal games (sometimes called the "Plus-One system"), hosted by an annual rotation of bowls commonly known as the New Year's Six. Thus, the teams to compete in the final are not directly selected by a selection committee, as had been the format used for the BCS National Championship Game.
The game is played at a neutral site, determined through bids by prospective host cities (similar to the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four). 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,[2] and cities cannot host both a semi-final game and the title game in the same year.[3]
The winner of the game is awarded the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, which is sponsored by Dr Pepper.[4] It was created as a new championship trophy, rather than the "crystal football" that has been given by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) since 1986, as officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system.[5]
The inaugural game was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on January 12, 2015, and was won by Ohio State.[6] A top-ranked team did not win the College Football Playoff National Championship until LSU won the sixth edition of the game, in January 2020. Alabama has the most appearances in a College Football Playoff National Championship, with six, and also the most wins, with three.
The College Football Playoff National Championship is not awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The highest level of college football that the NCAA awards a championship in is the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Cities across the United States can bid on the National Championship Game each year. The number of cities capable of bidding for the event is restricted by a requirement to have a stadium with at least 65,000 seats. The stadium restriction would limit the bidding to most cities with a National Football League franchise, since all but four of the stadiums in the league meet the capacity requirements. Unlike the Super Bowl, there is no de jure restriction on climate.[2] [3] A venue can not host a semi-final game and the National Championship Game in the same season.
Ten different regions and ten different stadiums have hosted the National Championship Game.
| City/Region | Stadium | hosted | Years hosted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (2) | 2018, (2025) | |||
| 1 (2) | 2021, (2026) | |||
| 1 | 2015 | |||
| 1 | 2024 | |||
| 1 | 2022 | |||
| 1 | 2023 | |||
| 1 | 2020 | |||
| 1 | 2016 | |||
| 1 | 2019 | |||
| 1 | 2017 |
Rankings are from the CFP Poll released prior to matchup.
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.Updated through the January 2024 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Title game appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win% | Season(s) won | Season(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Alabama | 2015, 2017, 2020 | 2016, 2018, 2021 | |||
| 4 | Clemson | 2016, 2018 | 2015, 2019 | |||
| 3 | Georgia | 2021, 2022 | 2017 | |||
| 2 | Ohio State | 2014 | 2020 | |||
| 1 | LSU | 2019 | ||||
| 1 | Michigan | 2023 | ||||
| 1 | Oregon | 2014 | ||||
| 1 | TCU | 2022 | ||||
| 1 | Washington | 2023 |
Updated through the January 2024 edition (20 games, 40 total appearances).
| Semifinal appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win% | Season(s) won | Season(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Alabama | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 | 2014, 2023 | |||
| 6 | Clemson | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 | 2017, 2020 | |||
| 5 | Ohio State | 2014, 2020 | 2016, 2019, 2022 | |||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 | ||||
| 3 | Georgia | 2017, 2021, 2022 | ||||
| 3 | Michigan | 2023 | 2021, 2022 | |||
| 2 | Washington | 2023 | 2016 | |||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 2018, 2020 | ||||
| 1 | Oregon | 2014 | ||||
| 1 | LSU | 2019 | ||||
| 1 | TCU | 2022 | ||||
| 1 | Florida State | 2014 | ||||
| 1 | Michigan State | 2015 | ||||
| 1 | Cincinnati | 2021 | ||||
| 1 | Texas | 2023 |
Updated through the January 2024 edition (10 games, 20 total appearances).
| Conference | Appearances | Wins | Losses | Win Pct |
| Team(s) | Title seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 10 | 3 | 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 | ||||
| ACC | 4 | 1 | Clemson (2–2) | 2016, 2018 | |||
| Big Ten | 3 | 2 | 2014, 2023 | ||||
| Pac-12 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Big 12 | 1 | 1 | TCU (0–1) |
The following coaches led their teams to the National Championship final. Nick Saban has reached the final the most times, six, with a 3–3 record.
| Season | Game date | Winning coach | Losing coach | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Team | Coach | Team | |||
| 2014 | January 12, 2015 | Ohio State | ||||
| 2015 | January 11, 2016 | Alabama | ||||
| 2016 | January 9, 2017 | Clemson | ||||
| 2017 | January 8, 2018 | Alabama | ||||
| 2018 | January 7, 2019 | Clemson | ||||
| 2019 | January 13, 2020 | LSU | ||||
| 2020 | January 11, 2021 | Alabama | Ohio State | |||
| 2021 | January 10, 2022 | Georgia | Alabama | |||
| 2022 | January 9, 2023 | Georgia | TCU | |||
| 2023 | January 8, 2024 | Michigan | Washington | |||
| Coach | Team | Games | W | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
An offensive MVP and defensive MVP are named for each final.
| Game | Date | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Pos | Player | Team | Pos | ||||
| 2015 | January 12, 2015 | Ohio State | RB | Ohio State | S | [9] | |||
| 2016 | January 11, 2016 | Alabama | TE | Alabama | S | [10] | |||
| 2017 | January 9, 2017 | Clemson | QB | Clemson | LB | [11] | |||
| 2018 | January 8, 2018 | Alabama | QB | Alabama | DT | [12] | |||
| 2019 | January 7, 2019 | Clemson | QB | Clemson | CB | [13] | |||
| 2020 | January 13, 2020 | LSU | QB | LSU | LB | [14] | |||
| 2021 | January 11, 2021 | Alabama | WR | Alabama | DT | [15] | |||
| 2022 | January 10, 2022 | QB | DB | [16] | |||||
| 2023 | January 9, 2023 | QB | DB | [17] | |||||
| 2024 | January 8, 2024 | RB | CB | [18] | |||||
The national anthem usually begins with a drumroll by two drummers, with one member representing each team.
The national anthem for the 2021 game was pre-recorded due to COVID concerns.[21]
| Date | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12, 2015 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 11, 2016 | ||||
| January 9, 2017 | Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi | |||
| January 8, 2018 | Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi | |||
| January 7, 2019 | ||||
| January 13, 2020 | ||||
| January 11, 2021 | Maria Taylor and Allison Williams | |||
| January 10, 2022 | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath | |||
| January 9, 2023 | ||||
| January 8, 2024 |
Beginning with the 2027 championship, ABC will simulcast the national championship with ESPN.[22]
| Date | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12, 2015 | Holly Rowe and Joe Schad | |||
| January 11, 2016 | ||||
| January 9, 2017 | Holly Rowe and Ian Fitzsimmons | |||
| January 8, 2018 | ||||
| January 7, 2019 | ||||
| January 13, 2020 | ||||
| January 11, 2021 | ||||
| January 10, 2022 | ||||
| January 9, 2023 | ||||
| January 8, 2024 | Greg McElroy |
| Date | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12, 2015 | KUGN (Oregon) WBNS-AM/FM (Ohio State) | Marty Bannister | |||
| January 11, 2016 | WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) WCCP-FM (Clemson) | Eli Gold Don Munson | Phil Savage Rodney Williams | Chris Stewart Michael Palmer | |
| January 9, 2017 | WCCP-FM (Clemson) WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) | Don Munson Eli Gold | Rodney Williams Phil Savage | Michael Palmer Chris Stewart | |
| January 8, 2018 | WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) WSB (Georgia) | Eli Gold Scott Howard | Chris Stewart Chuck Dowdle | ||
| January 7, 2019 | WCCP-FM (Clemson) WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) | Don Munson Eli Gold | Reggie Merriweather Rashad Johnson | ||
| January 13, 2020 | WCCP-FM (Clemson) WDGL (LSU) | Reggie Merriweather Gordy Rush | |||
| January 11, 2021 | WBNS-AM/FM (Ohio State) WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) | Paul Keels Eli Gold | Jim Lachey John Parker Wilson | Matt Andrews Rashad Johnson | |
| January 10, 2022 | WSB (Georgia) WFFN/WTSK (Alabama) | Scott Howard Eli Gold | Eric Zeier John Parker Wilson | D. J. Shockley Rashad Johnson | |
| January 9, 2023 | WBAP (TCU) WSB (Georgia) | Brian Estridge Scott Howard | John Denton Eric Zeier | Landry Burdine D. J. Shockley | |
| January 8, 2024 | KJR (Washington) WWJ (Michigan) | Elise Woodward Jason Avant |