The first semifinal games in the new college football playoff system will be played in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015.
The BCS conference commissioners announced the dates and rotation for all 12 years of the upcoming postseason format after a meeting in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Tuesday, the day after the BCS title game in Miami.
“It was not a one-year decision, it had to be a 12-year decision,” BCS executive director Bill Hancock said. “Calendar issues, days of rest. Sugar and Rose were paired together because of the days of rest since they are playing the same day.”
Whether they are hosting a semifinal or just a marquee bowl game, the Rose and Sugar bowls will always be played on Jan. 1, or Jan. 2 in years in which New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday.
In the eight years in which the Rose and Sugar do not host the semifinals, the four playoff teams will kick off on New Year’s Eve or Saturday, Dec. 30.
Either way, there will be a tripleheader of major college football games, two semifinals and four other marquee bowl games, on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day starting from the 2014 season to the 2025 season.
The Rose Bowl will also be the site of the last BCS title game on Jan. 1, 2014.
The site of the first title game in the new system is still to be picked, but the game will always be played on Mondays at least seven days after the semifinals. The first one will be played Jan. 12, 2015.
The earliest the title game will be played is Monday, Jan. 7, 2019.
The latest the championship game will be played is Jan. 13, and that will happen twice, in 2020 and 2025.
In the second year of the playoff, the Orange Bowl will host a semifinal on Dec. 31, 2015, along with one of three other sites still to be determined.
Hancock said the commissioners are on track to have those sites locked in by the end of their late April meetings in Pasadena, Calif.
FOSS GRAD SELECTED
Former Foss High star Nick Edwards, one of the leading receivers in Eastern Washington University history, has been added to the West roster for Friday’s Casino Del Sol All-Star Game in Tucson, Ariz.
He joins Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel and Cougars offensive lineman Wade Jacobson.
The game will be streamed live at 6 p.m. on ESPN3.com and WatchESPN.com.
Tuel also has been selected to play in the NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl all-star game on Jan. 19 in Carson, Calif. ESPN2 televises the game at 3 p.m.
EXTRA POINTS
Cal cornerback Steve Williams will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft, as will Stanford cornerback Terrence Brown and Outland Trophy-winning offensive tackle Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M. … Syracuse will name defensive coordinator Scott Shafer as the Orange’s next coach, a person familiar with the selection process said. … Delaware fired coach K.C. Keeler after 11 seasons, a 86-52 record and one national championship (2003).
Howie Stalwick, contributing writer
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