CFP reveals expanded first-round playoff dates

The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff schedule will begin in the third week of December in 2024.

One first-round game will be held on Friday, Dec. 20, and three will take place on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Executive director Bill Hancock confirmed the dates on Thursday after the conclusion of the CFP spring meetings in Irving, Texas.

As for the quarterfinal games, three will be played on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. The fourth will also be on a weekday, either Dec. 31 or Jan. 2, in order to avoid a conflict with the NFL's wild-card weekend.

"We want to preserve as much prep time between the rounds as we possibly can," Hancock told reporters. "I wouldn't want to share any details about our conversations with the NFL, but we have a good relationship with them."

In the expanded format, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will earn a bye in the first round.

The first-round games will be played at the home of the higher seed: No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.