College Football Playoff debuts new championship trophy

The moment we have all been waiting for is finally upon us. At a press conference in Irving, Texas, Monday morning, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock unveiled college football’s new prize.

Here it is in all its glory.

What you see in the photo is comprised of two pieces – the trophy and the base – so the trophy can be lifted when awarded to the national championship team. The trophy itself is handmade from 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel and is 26.5 inches tall and weighs 35 pounds.

Hancock opted to leave the trophy attached to the base in order to save the first hoist of the trophy for the inaugural champion of the College Football Playoff on January 12.

“The College Football Playoff marks the beginning of a new era and we are thrilled to present this iconic new national championship trophy,” Hancock said in a release. “This fall, thousands of athletes will lace up, with the goal of winning it all. We look forward to seeing our champion hoist this one-of-a-kind piece of art which will represent the highest level of team achievement in college football.”

According to a release from the College Football Playoff, “expert craftsmen” at Polich Tallix, a master fine art foundry in Rock Tavern, New York, worked on the trophy for three months to combine “cutting edge technologies with timeless metal casting and finishing techniques to create the trophy.” So this trophy is some serious business.

As far as the look goes, I don’t really have a strong opinion either way. I did like the famous crystal ball trophy (which will be repurposed as the trophy for the No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll), but this new look is fine with me too.

Hancock called it a “priceless, one of a kind piece of art.” I wouldn’t exactly go that far, but the fact that it signifies that there is finally a playoff system in place to decide college football’s champion is music to my ears.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter! Follow @SamDCooper