After much public criticism and a significant drop in ratings, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, Bill Hancock announced on Thursday that the semifinals will no longer be played on New Year’s Eve unless it falls on a Saturday.
Prior to this decision the semfinals were scheduled for New Year’s Day once every three years and New Year’s Eve the other two years of the rotation.
“We had healthy discussions with a lot of people who love college football and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans.” Bill Hancock
The semifinal will remain on Friday Dec. 31 2021 due to a national federal holiday taking place on the same day.
Here is the updated CFP schedule:
| 2016-17 | Saturday, December 31 |
| 2017-18 | Monday, January 1 |
| 2018-19 | Saturday, December 29 |
| 2019-20 | Saturday, December 28 |
| 2020-21 | Friday, January 1 |
| 2021-22 | Friday, December 31 |
| 2022-23 | Saturday, December 31 |
| 2023-24 | Monday, January 1 |
| 2024-25 | Saturday, December 28 |
| 2025-26 | Saturday, December 27 |
