New Year's Six

New Year's Six
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Name	New Year's Six
Sport	College football
Established	2014
Organizer	College Football Playoff
Region	United States
Number of teams	12
Website	College Football Playoff

New Year's Six

The New Year's Six comprise six major postseason bowl games in American college football that host semifinal and major bowl matchups for top teams from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and determine national standing within the College Football Playoff era. The series features traditional venues and institutions such as the Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl, and Orange Bowl, and interacts with organizations including the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Atlantic Coast Conference. It functions at the nexus of longstanding bowl traditions and modern playoff selection administered by the College Football Playoff Committee.

Overview

The New Year's Six includes six prominent bowl games—Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl Classic, and Peach Bowl—that rotate hosting the two annual College Football Playoff semifinal games and showcase top teams from conferences such as the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference. The series intersects with conferences, television partners like ESPN, venues such as Rose Bowl Stadium and Mercedez-Benz Stadium, and corporate sponsors including Allstate, Chick-fil-A, and PlayStation. Committees and stakeholders from institutions like the University of Alabama and the University of Michigan negotiate dates, payouts, and TV rights within the postseason framework.

Member Bowls

Member bowls in the rotation are the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas, and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. These bowl games maintain historical linkages to programs such as the University of Southern California, Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Notre Dame, and Clemson University. Stadiums and host cities coordinate with state and city governments including California, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia for event logistics and tourism.

Selection Process

Teams are selected for New Year's Six games primarily via the College Football Playoff selection by the College Football Playoff Committee, which ranks teams weekly and issues a final top 25 at season end; the top four typically enter the semifinal slots. Additional berths follow tie-ins with conferences: the highest-ranked champions of the Power Five—Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference—may receive automatic placements, while the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five conferences—for example the American Athletic Conference—can earn a New Year's Six berth. The committee, composed of athletic directors and administrators from institutions such as University of Notre Dame and University of Florida, applies criteria including head-to-head results, conference championships, strength of schedule, and results versus common opponents.

History and Evolution

The New Year's Six concept was formalized with the inauguration of the College Football Playoff in 2014, replacing the Bowl Championship Series arrangement that had linked games like the Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl to the BCS National Championship. Historical antecedents include the annual Rose Bowl matchups that date to the early 20th century and mid-century matchups like 1966 Rose Bowl and 1973 Sugar Bowl that shaped national titles. Key institutions such as the Alabama Crimson Tide, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, and USC Trojans figure prominently in the bowls' legacy. The evolution has involved litigation, media negotiations with Disney and ESPN, and conference realignment episodes involving schools like Texas Christian University and University of Texas at Austin, changing automatic tie-ins and payout distributions administered by the College Football Playoff governance.

Impact on College Football Playoffs and Rankings

The New Year's Six structure reshaped national championship pathways by providing fixed, high-profile sites for semifinal matchups and by elevating ranking stakes for weekly polls such as those produced by the College Football Playoff Committee. Programs with storied pedigrees—Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs—have used New Year's Six appearances to bolster recruiting efforts and influence the Associated Press College Football Poll and Coaches Poll narratives. Television partners like ESPN and sponsors such as Capital One leverage New Year's Six viewership to negotiate carriage and advertising deals with broadcasters like ABC and ESPN2, while athletic departments at institutions such as University of Michigan and University of Florida adjust budgets reflecting bowl payouts and ticket allocations.

Records and Notable Games

Notable games within the New Year's Six framework include matchups that featured record-setting performances and championship implications involving players like Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, and Baker Mayfield. Historic contests trace back to iconic bowls: the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship and the 2019 Rose Bowl stand among memorable events, along with standout victories by programs like Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers, and Georgia Bulldogs. Individual and team records span passing yards, rushing totals, and attendance marks at venues like Rose Bowl Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, while coaches such as Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Urban Meyer, and Jim Harbaugh have accumulated significant New Year's Six résumé entries through conference championships and playoff runs.

Category:College football bowls