College Football Playoff National Championship
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a College football national championships in NCAA [Division I FBS|national champion] of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, which began play in the 2014 college football season. The game is held on a Monday in mid-January and serves as the final game of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the top five ranked conference champions, and the top 7 ranked at-large teams in the country that are selected by a playoff committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and then its similar BCS National Championship Game.
The participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semifinal games, hosted by an annual rotation of bowls commonly known as the New Year's Six. Thus, the teams to compete in the final are not directly selected by a selection committee, as had been the format used for the BCS National Championship Game.
The game is played at a neutral site, determined through bids by prospective host cities. When announcing it was soliciting bids for the 2016 and 2017 title games, playoff organizers noted that the bids must propose host stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000 spectators, and cities cannot host both a semifinal game and the title game in the same year.
The winner of the game is awarded the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, which is sponsored by Dr Pepper. It was created as a new championship trophy, rather than the "crystal football" that has been given by the American Football Coaches Association since 1986, as officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system.
The inaugural game was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on January 12, 2015, and was won by Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]. A top-ranked team did not win the College Football Playoff National Championship until LSU Tigers football team|LSU] won the sixth edition of the game, in January 2020. Alabama has the most appearances in a College Football Playoff National Championship, with six, and also the most wins, with three.
The College Football Playoff National Championship is not awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The highest level of college football that the NCAA awards a championship in is the Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
Venues
Cities across the United States can bid on the National Championship Game each year. The number of cities capable of bidding for the event is restricted by a requirement to have a stadium with at least 65,000 seats. The stadium restriction would limit the bidding to most cities with a National Football League franchise, since all but four of the stadiums in the league meet the capacity requirements, and in practice all National Championship venues chosen for up to and including the 2026 game are also home to at least one NFL franchise. Unlike the Super Bowl, there is no de jure restriction on climate. A venue cannot host a semifinal game and the National Championship Game in the same season.Host cities/regions
The first 10 championship games were each held in a different venue. The 2025 game was the first to be contested in a venue that had previously hosted a CFP title game.Scheduled for the year noted in italics
Note: Years listed are the calendar year in which the game was played rather than NCAA season.
Game results
Rankings are from the CFP Poll released prior to matchup.| Season | Playoff | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Venue | City | Attendance | Notes |
| 2014 | Jan 12, 2015 | #4 [2014 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|] | 42–20 | #2 Oregon Ducks football team|] | AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas | 85,788 | Notes | |
| 2015 | Jan 11, 2016 | #2 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | 45–40 | #1 Clemson Tigers football team|] | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale, Arizona | 75,765 | Notes | |
| 2016 | Jan 9, 2017 | #2 [2016 Clemson Tigers football team|] | 35–31 | #1 [2016 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Florida | 74,512 | Notes | |
| 2017 | Jan 8, 2018 | #4 [2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | #3 Georgia Bulldogs football team|] | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Georgia | 77,430 | Notes | ||
| 2018 | Jan 7, 2019 | #2 [2018 Clemson Tigers football team|] | 44–16 | #1 [2018 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | Levi's Stadium | Santa Clara, California | 74,814 | Notes | |
| 2019 | Jan 13, 2020 | #1 [2019 LSU Tigers football team|] | 42–25 | #3 [2019 Clemson Tigers football team|] | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana | 76,885 | Notes | |
| 2020 | Jan 11, 2021 | #1 [2020 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | 52–24 | #3 [2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|] | Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida | 14,926 | Notes | |
| 2021 | Jan 10, 2022 | #3 [2021 Georgia Bulldogs football team|] | 33–18 | #1 [2021 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|] | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana | 68,311 | Notes | |
| 2022 | Jan 9, 2023 | #1 [2022 Georgia Bulldogs football team|] | 65–7 | #3 TCU Horned Frogs football team|] | SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, California | 72,628 | Notes | |
| 2023 | Jan 8, 2024 | #1 Michigan Wolverines football team|] | 34–13 | #2 Washington Huskies football team|] | NRG Stadium | Houston, Texas | 72,808 | Notes | |
| 2024 | Jan 20, 2025 | #8 [2024 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|] | 34–23 | #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|] | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Georgia | 77,660 | Notes | |
| 2025 | Jan 19, 2026 | #1 Indiana Hoosiers football team|] | 27–21 | #10 Miami Hurricanes football team|] | Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida | 67,227 | Notes | |
| 2026 | Jan 25, 2027 | Allegiant Stadium | Paradise, Nevada | ||||||
| 2027 | Jan 24, 2028 | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||
| 2028 | Jan 22, 2029 | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Florida | ||||||
| 2029 | Jan 21, 2030 | Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida |
Attendance at the January 2021 game was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Source:
Appearances by team
Updated through the January 2026 edition.| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Season won | Season lost |
| 6 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 3 | 3 | 50 | 2015, 2017, 2020 | 2016, 2018, 2021 |
| 4 | Clemson Tigers | 2 | 2 | 50 | 2016, 2018 | 2015, 2019 |
| 3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 2 | 1 | 67 | 2014, 2024 | 2020 |
| 3 | Georgia Bulldogs | 2 | 1 | 67 | 2021, 2022 | 2017 |
| 1 | LSU Tigers | 1 | 0 | 100 | 2019 | |
| 1 | Michigan Wolverines | 1 | 0 | 100 | 2023 | |
| 1 | Indiana Hoosiers | 1 | 0 | 100 | 2025 | |
| 1 | Oregon Ducks | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2014 | |
| 1 | TCU Horned Frogs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2022 | |
| 1 | Washington Huskies | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2023 | |
| 1 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2024 | |
| 1 | Miami Hurricanes | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2025 |
Appearances by conference
Updated through the January 2026 edition.| Conference | Appearances | Wins | Losses | Win Pct | # Teams | Team | Title seasons |
| SEC | 10 | 3 | 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 | - | - | ||
| Big Ten | 5 | 3 | 2014, 2023, 2024, 2025 | - | - | ||
| ACC | 5 | 2 | 2016, 2018 | - | - | ||
| Pac-12 | 2 | 2 | - | ||||
| Big 12 | 1 | 1 | TCU | - | - | ||
| Independent | 1 | 1 | Notre Dame | - | - |
Coaches
The following coaches led their teams to the National Championship final. Nick Saban has reached the final the most times, six, with a 3–3 record.Appearances by coach
| Coach | Team | Games | W | L |
| Alabama | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Clemson | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Georgia | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| LSU | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Indiana | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Miami | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| TCU | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Players of the Game
Offensive and defensive Player of the Game awards are named for each final.Game records
Source:
National anthem performers
The national anthem usually begins with a drum roll by two snare drummers, with one member representing each team.- 2015: Lady Antebellum
- 2016: Ciara
- 2017: Little Big Town
- 2018: Zac Brown Band
- 2019: Andy Grammer
- 2020: Lauren Daigle
- 2022: Natalie Grant
- 2023: Pentatonix
- 2024: Fantasia
- 2025: Coco Jones
- 2026: Jamal Roberts
Broadcasters
Television
| Date | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator | Sideline reporter |
| January 12, 2015 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 11, 2016 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 9, 2017 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 8, 2018 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 7, 2019 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 13, 2020 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi |
| January 11, 2021 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Maria Taylor and Allison Williams |
| January 10, 2022 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath |
| January 9, 2023 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath |
| January 8, 2024 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath |
| January 20, 2025 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath |
| January 19, 2026 | ESPN | Chris Fowler | Kirk Herbstreit | Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath |
Beginning with the 2027 championship, ABC will simulcast the national championship with ESPN.
Radio
Local radio
| Date | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Color commentator | Sideline reporter |
| January 12, 2015 | KUGN WBNS-AM/FM | Jerry Allen Paul Keels | Mike Jorgensen Jim Lachey | Marty Bannister |
| January 11, 2016 | WFFN/WTSK WCCP-FM | Eli Gold Don Munson | Phil Savage Rodney Williams | Chris Stewart Michael Palmer |
| January 9, 2017 | WCCP-FM WFFN/WTSK | Don Munson Eli Gold | Rodney Williams Phil Savage | Michael Palmer Chris Stewart |
| January 8, 2018 | WFFN/WTSK WSB | Eli Gold Scott Howard | Phil Savage Eric Zeier | Chris Stewart Chuck Dowdle |
| January 7, 2019 | WCCP-FM WFFN/WTSK | Don Munson Eli Gold | Rodney Williams John Parker Wilson | Reggie Merriweather Rashad Johnson |
| January 13, 2020 | WCCP-FM WDGL | Don Munson Chris Blair | Tim Bourret and Brad Scott Doug Moreau | Reggie Merriweather Gordy Rush |
| January 11, 2021 | WBNS-AM/FM WFFN/WTSK | Paul Keels Eli Gold | Jim Lachey John Parker Wilson | Matt Andrews Rashad Johnson |
| January 10, 2022 | WSB WFFN/WTSK | Scott Howard Eli Gold | Eric Zeier John Parker Wilson | D. J. Shockley Rashad Johnson |
| January 9, 2023 | WBAP WSB | Brian Estridge Scott Howard | John Denton Eric Zeier | Landry Burdine D. J. Shockley |
| January 8, 2024 | KJR WWJ | Tony Castricone Doug Karsch | Cameron Cleeland Jon Jansen | Elise Woodward Jason Avant |
| January 20, 2025 | WBNS-AM/FM WSBT | Paul Keels Tony Simeone | Jim Lachey Ryan Harris | Matt Andrews and Skip Mosic |
| January 19, 2026 | WQAM-FM WFNI | Joe Zagacki Don Fischer | Don Bailey Buck Suhr | Josh Darrow John Herrick |