The Rose Bowl is seeking to get out of the College Football Playoff semifinal rotation starting in 2026, sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. If bowl officials are successful, the Granddaddy of Them All will permanently move to its traditional Jan. 1 date.
"Because we're the only bowl that has the date as part of our brand in the New Year's Six bowls, it's really imperative for us and important for us," Rose Bowl management committee chair Laura Farber told ESPN. "We don't know when there will be a longform agreement. We're hopeful it will be sooner than later, but that depends on when the CFP has everything ready to go."
This is not the Rose Bowl's first attempt to keep its traditional spot. According to Dodd, during development of the 12-team field format, the Rose Bowl let it be known it wanted to retain the Jan. 1 date at 5 p.m. ET if possible.
"(This is) not new news," one College Football Playoff bowl official familiar with the talks told Dodd.
Sources tell Dodd the Rose Bowl's intent is to preserve the relevancy of the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1. The parade has long been considered more important to some of those bowl officials than the game itself.
Becoming a permanent quarterfinal possibly impacts the quality of the matchup, but that's less of an issue than the permanency of the date, time and parade.
If the Rose Bowl gets its wish two semifinal games will go back into the pot and be available for the five remaining CFP bowls over a six-year period. Those five remaining bowls -- Orange, Fiesta, Cotton, Peach and Sugar -- may not be opposed to that because of an enhanced chance of getting semifinal games that would historically include more traditional powers. That mean better ticket sales and higher TV ratings.
The final decision will be made by the CFP Management Committee.
The Rose's request might be the first significant issue overseen by new CFP executive director Richard Clark, the former Air Force Academy superintendent.
"It's a request that we're aware of and we've made all the bowls aware that they have that request and we're working through it." Clark said. "I imagine there are going to requests from other bowls too.
Clark said the final long-form contract with ESPN that begins in 2026 has not been completed. That leaves room for the Rose Bowl request to be included in that deal as well as a separate contract with the CFP bowls. The final ESPN deal, he said, is imminent.
With the new 12-team CFP playoff starting this season, four New Year's Six bowls will host the quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The other two bowls will play host to the semifinals the following week. The Rose Bowl is scheduled to be a quarterfinal matchup for the next two seasons.
The Rose Bowl was first played in Pasadena, California in 1902 and became an annual event in 1916. It has been played in the stadium bearing its name every year other than 1941-42 (moved to Durham, North Carolina due to World War II) and 2021 (moved to Arlington, Texas due to COVID).
Until 2002, Every Rose Bowl game featured a matchup between a team from the Pac-12 and Big Ten. That year it played host to the BCS National Championship Game between Nebraska and Miami. Since then it has been part of the BCS and later the College Football Playoff rotation.
Clark was in attendance at season's game with eventual national champion Michigan holding off Alabama in the semifinal of the last four-team CFP.
"They said I could go to one [semifinal] game," said Clark, who was named late last year to succeed Bill Hancock. "I said, 'Well, if I can go to one, I mean, I have to see that one. It was spectacular.
"But I totally understand. It's New Year's. They've got the parade and everything that goes with it. It's a fair request. We've got to weigh it out."
