Cowboys Stadium Will Host First "College Football Playoff" Championship

April 25, 2013 by Dave Congrove

Bill Hancock, the Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, announced today that the first National Championship Game of the playoff era will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. The game will be January 12, 2015.

Hancock also announced that the Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Chick-fil-A Bowl have been selected to be part of the six-bowl rotation that will host the College Football Playoff, joining the Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls. Under the arrangement, each bowl will host a national semifinal once every three years. The national championship game will be held in a different U.S. city each year.

The College Football Playoff will begin with the 2014-2015 season and will feature the four top teams as selected by a yet-to-be-named selection committee. The Rose and Sugar Bowls will host the first national semifinals, which will pit No. 1 versus No. 4 and No. 2 versus No. 3 on January 1, 2015. The winners of those two games will face off in the first championship game two weeks later in Texas.

The Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl will host the semifinals in the second year of the playoff. The Chick-fil-A Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will host semifinals in the third year.

"The first championship game of the College Football Playoff era is going to be very special, and Cowboys Stadium is a wonderful place to host the first game," said Hancock. "We’re also pleased to announce the three other bowls that will be part of the College Football Playoff, because rotating the event means more fans in more cities can experience it in person. Each day that passes by is one day closer to the College Football Playoff era," Hancock said.

The new logo for the College Football Playoff will be selected by the public from four finalists, which are displayed on the event’s new website: CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.

Fans can vote once a day for the next six days. The logo receiving the most votes will become the official mark for the event, which will continue at least through the 2025-26 season.

"We are delighted to be able to provide fans the opportunity to participate in this way," Hancock said. "We know they will enjoy it."

The winning logo will be announced Monday, April 29, 2013.