College Football Playoff will not change its 2015 semifinal dates

The semifinal dates of the 2015 College Football Playoff are not moving.

ESPN asked the College Football Playoff to change its semifinal games, which are scheduled for Dec. 31, so that it didn’t have to compete for ratings with the various broadcasts celebrating the turn of the year. Also, New Year’s Eve falls on Thursday and ESPN claimed the games would do better on Jan. 2, a Saturday.

However, the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, which comprise the playoff’s management committee, decided against the request.

"We reviewed it and rejected it," Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. "We like the concept that we've developed for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Going forward we think that's the right model for college football."

The 2015 semifinals will be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.

The playoff’s 12-year contract with ESPN has terms that allow tripleheader bowl games, including the semifinals on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

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