College Football Playoff moves semifinal dates to weekends, holidays

Next semifinal game at Orange Bowl scheduled for Dec. 29, 2018

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. ā€“ The College Football Playoff is moving the dates of its semifinal games, ensuring that they will now be played on either Saturdays or holidays.

Executive Director Bill Hancock announced the shift in scheduling Thursday, saying the changes "would be the right thing to do for our fans."

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"We tried to do something special with New Year's Eve, even when it fell on a weekday," Hancock said in a news release. "But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed."

That means that the next CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl will be played Dec. 29, 2018, which falls on a Saturday. The game was previously scheduled for Dec. 31.

The Orange Bowl semifinal game in 2021 will still be played on New Year's Eve, which is a Friday.

This season's semifinal games at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will be played on New Year's Eve. The CFP National Championship is scheduled for Jan. 9.


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Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.