New Year's Six
The New Year's Six, sometimes abbreviated as NY6, is an unofficial but commonly used term used to describe NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. These games are played annually on or around New Year's Day and represent six of the ten oldest bowl games currently played at the FBS level.
| New Year's Six | |
|---|---|
| In operation | 2014–present |
| Preceded by | BCS (1998–2013) Bowl Alliance (1995–1997) Bowl Coalition (1992–1994) |
| Number of New Year's Six games | 6 plus the National Championship game |
| Television partner(s) | ESPN (2014–present) |
| Most New Year's Six appearances | Alabama (9) |
| Most New Year's Six wins | Alabama (9) |
| Most New Year's Six championships | Alabama (3) |
| Conference with most appearances | SEC (24) |
| Conference with most game wins | SEC (20) |
| Conference with most championships | SEC (4) |
| Last championship game | January 10, 2022 |
| Current champion | Georgia |
These six top-tier bowl games rotate the hosting of the two College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal games, which determine the teams that play in the final College Football Playoff National Championship game.[1] The rotation is set on a three-year cycle with the following pairings: Rose–Sugar, Orange–Cotton, and Fiesta–Peach. The National Championship game may be considered part of the New Year's Six, depending on context.
Using the final CFP rankings, the selection committee seeds and pairs the top four teams and determines the participants for the other four non-playoff New Year's Six bowls that are not hosting the semifinals that year. These four non-playoff bowls are also referred to as the Selection Committee bowl games. These 6 games focus on the top 12 teams in the rankings; to date during the College Football Playoff era (2014–2020 football seasons), only 9 of the 84 teams selected by the committee have been ranked lower than 12th.
Overall, 12 teams are selected each football season for these major, top-tier bowls. These are required to include the champions of the "Power Five" conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC). In addition, the highest-ranked champion from the "Group of Five" conferences (The American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) is guaranteed a berth if the group's top team is not in the playoff.[2]
History leading to the creation of the CFP
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created five bowl game match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff. The four-team playoffs consist of two semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the College Football Playoff National Championship. If New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the traditional New Year's Day games are played on January 2 in deference to the National Football League's week 17 games.
In June 2012, the BCS conference presidents approved the College Football Playoff to replace the Bowl Championship Series.[2] Three bowls—Rose, Sugar, and Orange—because of their contracts with Power 5 conferences, were selected to be part of the rotating semifinal playoff games, with three more bowls to be named.[1] Because of issues about fairness and the Big East's BCS Automatic Qualifier conference status, conference commissioners began to consider accommodating the Group of Five leagues with a seventh participating bowl. On November 12, 2012, in Denver, the conference commissioners granted the top Group of Five conference champion a guaranteed slot in one of the six premier bowls.[2] In July 2013, the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Chick-fil-A Bowl were selected as the other three rotating semifinal playoff bowls ahead of the Holiday Bowl. Also, the BCS conference commissioners meetings selected Cowboys Stadium as the first host of the College Football Playoff Championship Game on January 12, 2015.[1]
Bowl game conference tie-ins
Three of the bowls have tie-ins with the specified conference champions in the years they're not hosting playoff semifinals:
- Rose Bowl: Big Ten vs. Pac-12[3]
- Sugar Bowl: SEC vs. Big 12[2]
- Orange Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten, SEC, or Notre Dame[4]
When the conference champion is unavailable, the bowls invite the next-best team from that conference. The Cotton,[1] Fiesta,[3] and Peach Bowls have no conference tie-ins;[3] as such, the best conference champion from the Group of Five ends up in one of those bowls if it doesn't end up in a playoff semifinal.[2]
History and schedule
Games are listed in chronological order, with final CFP rankings, and win–loss records prior to the respective bowl being played.
2014 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | December 31, 2014 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 6 TCU (11–1) | 42 | No. 9 Ole Miss (9–3) | 3 |
| Wednesday | December 31, 2014 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 20 Boise State (11–2) | 38 | No. 10 Arizona (10–3) | 30 |
| Wednesday | December 31, 2014 | Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 12 Georgia Tech (10–3) | 49 | No. 7 Mississippi State (10–2) | 34 |
| Thursday | January 1, 2015 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 8 Michigan State (10–2) | 42 | No. 5 Baylor (11–1) | 41 |
| Thursday | January 1, 2015 | (CFP Semifinal) Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 2 Oregon (12–1) | 59 | No. 3 Florida State (13–0) | 20 |
| Thursday | January 1, 2015 | (CFP Semifinal) Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 4 Ohio State (12–1) | 42 | No. 1 Alabama (12–1) | 35 |
| Monday | January 12, 2015 | National Championship Game | Arlington, TX | No. 4 Ohio State (13–1) | 42 | No. 2 Oregon (13–1) | 20 |
2015 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | December 31, 2015 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 18 Houston (12–1) | 38 | No. 9 Florida State (10–2) | 24 |
| Thursday | December 31, 2015 | (CFP Semifinal) Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 1 Clemson (13–0) | 37 | No. 4 Oklahoma (11–1) | 17 |
| Thursday | December 31, 2015 | (CFP Semifinal) Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 2 Alabama (12–1) | 38 | No. 3 Michigan State (12–1) | 0 |
| Friday | January 1, 2016 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 7 Ohio State (11–1) | 44 | No. 8 Notre Dame (10–2) | 28 |
| Friday | January 1, 2016 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 6 Stanford (11–2) | 45 | No. 5 Iowa (12–1) | 16 |
| Friday | January 1, 2016 | Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 12 Ole Miss (9–3) | 48 | No. 16 Oklahoma State (10–2) | 20 |
| Monday | January 11, 2016 | National Championship Game | Glendale, AZ | No. 2 Alabama (13–1) | 45 | No. 1 Clemson (14–0) | 40 |
2016 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | December 30, 2016 | Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 11 Florida State (9–3) | 33 | No. 6 Michigan (10–2) | 32 |
| Saturday | December 31, 2016 | (CFP Semifinal) Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 1 Alabama (13–0) | 24 | No. 4 Washington (12–1) | 7 |
| Saturday | December 31, 2016 | (CFP Semifinal) Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 2 Clemson (12–1) | 31 | No. 3 Ohio State (11–1) | 0 |
| Monday | January 2, 2017 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 8 Wisconsin (10–3) | 24 | No. 15 Western Michigan (13–0) | 16 |
| Monday | January 2, 2017 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 9 USC (9–3) | 52 | No. 5 Penn State (11–2) | 49 |
| Monday | January 2, 2017 | Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 7 Oklahoma (10–2) | 35 | No. 14 Auburn (8–4) | 19 |
| Monday | January 9, 2017 | National Championship Game | Tampa, FL | No. 2 Clemson (13–1) | 35 | No. 1 Alabama (14–0) | 31 |
2017 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | December 29, 2017 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 5 Ohio State (11–2) | 24 | No. 8 USC (11–2) | 7 |
| Saturday | December 30, 2017 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 9 Penn State (10–2) | 35 | No. 11 Washington (10–2) | 28 |
| Saturday | December 30, 2017 | Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 6 Wisconsin (12–1) | 34 | No. 10 Miami (FL) (10–2) | 24 |
| Monday | January 1, 2018 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 12 UCF (12–0) | 34 | No. 7 Auburn (10–3) | 27 |
| Monday | January 1, 2018 | (CFP Semifinal) Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 3 Georgia (12–1) | 54 | No. 2 Oklahoma (12–1) | 482OT |
| Monday | January 1, 2018 | (CFP Semifinal) Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 4 Alabama (11–1) | 24 | No. 1 Clemson (12–1) | 6 |
| Monday | January 8, 2018 | National Championship Game | Atlanta, GA | No. 4 Alabama (12–1) | 26 | No. 3 Georgia (13–1) | 23OT |
2018 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | December 29, 2018 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 10 Florida (9–3) | 41 | No. 7 Michigan (10–2) | 15 |
| Saturday | December 29, 2018 | (CFP Semifinal) Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 2 Clemson (13–0) | 30 | No. 3 Notre Dame (12–0) | 3 |
| Saturday | December 29, 2018 | (CFP Semifinal) Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 1 Alabama (13–0) | 45 | No. 4 Oklahoma (12–1) | 34 |
| Tuesday | January 1, 2019 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 11 LSU (9–3) | 40 | No. 8 UCF (12–0) | 32 |
| Tuesday | January 1, 2019 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 6 Ohio State (12–1) | 28 | No. 9 Washington (10–3) | 23 |
| Tuesday | January 1, 2019 | Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 15 Texas (9–4) | 28 | No. 5 Georgia (11–2) | 21 |
| Monday | January 7, 2019 | National Championship Game | Santa Clara, CA | No. 2 Clemson (14–0) | 44 | No. 1 Alabama (14–0) | 16 |
2019 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | December 28, 2019 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 10 Penn State (10–2) | 53 | No. 17 Memphis (12–1) | 39 |
| Saturday | December 28, 2019 | (CFP Semifinal) Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 1 LSU (13–0) | 63 | No. 4 Oklahoma (12–1) | 28 |
| Saturday | December 28, 2019 | (CFP Semifinal) Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 3 Clemson (13–0) | 29 | No. 2 Ohio State (13–0) | 23 |
| Monday | December 30, 2019 | Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 9 Florida (10–2) | 36 | No. 24 Virginia (9–4) | 28 |
| Wednesday | January 1, 2020 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 6 Oregon (11–2) | 28 | No. 8 Wisconsin (10–3) | 27 |
| Wednesday | January 1, 2020 | Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 5 Georgia (11–2) | 26 | No. 7 Baylor (11–2) | 14 |
| Monday | January 13, 2020 | National Championship Game | New Orleans, LA | No. 1 LSU (14–0) | 42 | No. 3 Clemson (14–0) | 25 |
2020 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | December 30, 2020 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 6 Oklahoma (8–2) | 55 | No. 7 Florida (8–3) | 20 |
| Friday | January 1, 2021 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 9 Georgia (7–2) | 24 | No. 8 Cincinnati (9–0) | 21 |
| Friday | January 1, 2021 | (CFP Semifinal) Rose Bowl | Arlington, TX | No. 1 Alabama (11–0) | 31 | No. 4 Notre Dame (10–1) | 14 |
| Friday | January 1, 2021 | (CFP Semifinal) Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 3 Ohio State (6–0) | 49 | No. 2 Clemson (10–1) | 28 |
| Saturday | January 2, 2021 | Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 5 Texas A&M (8–1) | 41 | No. 13 North Carolina (8–3) | 27 |
| Saturday | January 2, 2021 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 10 Iowa State (8–3) | 34 | No. 25 Oregon (4–2) | 17 |
| Monday | January 11, 2021 | National Championship Game | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 1 Alabama (12–0) | 52 | No. 3 Ohio State (7–0) | 24 |
Source:[7]
2021 season
| Day | Date | Bowl | City | Winning team | Losing team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | December 30, 2021 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, GA | No. 10 Michigan State (10–2) | 31 | No. 12 Pittsburgh (11–2) | 21 |
| Friday | December 31, 2021 | (CFP Semifinal) Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, TX | No. 1 Alabama (12–1) | 27 | No. 4 Cincinnati (13–0) | 6 |
| Friday | December 31, 2021 | (CFP Semifinal) Orange Bowl | Miami Gardens, FL | No. 3 Georgia (12–1) | 34 | No. 2 Michigan (12–1) | 11 |
| Saturday | January 1, 2022 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, AZ | No. 9 Oklahoma State (11–2) | 37 | No. 5 Notre Dame (11–1) | 35 |
| Saturday | January 1, 2022 | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, CA | No. 6 Ohio State (10–2) | 48 | No. 11 Utah (10–3) | 45 |
| Saturday | January 1, 2022 | Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | No. 7 Baylor (11–2) | 21 | No. 8 Ole Miss (10–2) | 7 |
| Monday | January 10, 2022 | National Championship Game | Indianapolis, IN | No.3 Georgia (13–1) | 33 | No. 1 Alabama (13–1) | 18 |
Future games
| Season (bowl games) | Cotton | Orange | Fiesta | Peach | Rose | Sugar | Championship (site) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (2022–23) | January 2 | December 30 | December 31 | December 31 | January 2 | January 2 | January 9 (Los Angeles, CA) |
| 2023 (2023–24) | January 1 | December 30 | December 30 | December 29 | January 1 | January 1 | January 8 (Houston, TX) |
| 2024 (2024–25) | December 28 | December 28 | December 30 | December 28 | January 1 | January 1 | January 6 (Las Vegas, NV) |
| 2025 (2025–26) | December 27 | December 30 | December 27 | December 27 | January 1 | January 1 | January 5 (Miami, FL) |
Denotes CFP semifinal games
Source:[8]
New Year's Six bowl appearances
New Year's Six performance
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New Year's Six bowl appearances by team
+ Denotes CFP Semifinal
New Year's Six bowl appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | Games | W | L | Pct | # Schools | School(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 24 | 33 | 21 | 12 | .636 | 8 | Alabama 13 (9–4) Georgia 7 (5–2) LSU 3 (3–0) Florida 3 (2–1) Ole Miss 3 (1–2) Auburn 2 (0–2) Texas A&M 1 (1-0) Mississippi State 1 (0–1) |
| Big Ten | 21 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .583 | 6 | Ohio State 10 (7–3) Michigan State 3 (2–1) Penn State 3 (2–1) Wisconsin 3 (2–1) Michigan 3 (0–3) Iowa 1 (0–1) |
| ACC | 15 | 19 | 8 | 11 | .421 | 8 | Clemson 10 (6–4) Florida State 3 (1–2) Georgia Tech 1 (1–0) Miami (FL) 1 (0–1) Virginia 1 (0–1) Notre Dame* 1 (0–1) North Carolina 1 (0–1) Pittsburgh 1 (0–1) |
| Big 12 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 6 | Oklahoma 6 (2–4) Baylor 3 (1–2) TCU 1 (1–0) Texas 1 (1–0) Oklahoma State 2 (1–1) Iowa State 1 (1–0) |
| Pac-12 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | 6 | Oregon 4 (2–2) Washington 3 (0–3) USC 2 (1–1) Stanford 1 (1–0) Arizona 1 (0–1) Utah 1 (0–1) |
| American | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 4 | UCF 2 (1–1) Cincinnati 2 (0–2) Houston 1 (1–0) Memphis 1 (0–1) |
| Independent | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 1 | Notre Dame* 3 (0–3) |
| Mountain West | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | Boise State 1 (1–0) |
| MAC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Western Michigan 1 (0–1) |
Conference USA and Sun Belt Conference have never appeared in the New Year's Six.
* In 2020, Notre Dame played as part of the ACC Conference due to COVID-19
College Football Playoff appearances and performances
College Football Playoff performance
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College Football Playoff National Championship appearances
College Football Playoff National Championship appearances by team
| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Season(s) won | Season(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | [[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama]] | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2015, 2017, 2020 | 2016, 2018, 2021 |
| 4 | [[Clemson Tigers football|Clemson]] | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2016, 2018 | 2015, 2019 |
| 2 | [[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia]] | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2021 | 2017 |
| 2 | [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]] | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2014 | 2020 |
| 1 | [[LSU Tigers football|LSU]] | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2019 | |
| 1 | [[Oregon Ducks football|Oregon]] | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2014 | |
College Football Playoff National Championship appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | Wins | Losses | Win Pct | # Teams | Team(s) | Title seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3 | Alabama 6 (3–3) Georgia 2 (1–1) LSU 1 (1–0) |
2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| ACC | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1 | Clemson 4 (2–2) | 2016, 2018 |
| Big Ten | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 | Ohio State 2 (1–1) | 2014 |
| Pac-12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Oregon 1 (0–1) |
The Big 12 Conference and the "Group of Five" conferences have never appeared in the CFP National Championship.
References
- Staff reports (July 22, 2013). "Sources: 'New Year's Six' likely the working title for College Football Playoff's six bowl games". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- Stewart Mandel (12 November 2012). "Stewart Mandel: Big East, rest of 'Group of Five' score victory with six-bowl decision". SI.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- McMann, Aaron (November 30, 2018). "Michigan's bowl destination hinges on Ohio State and the playoff". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- Daily Press (15 November 2012). "Teel Time: ACC, Orange Bowl announce ties with SEC, Big Ten, Notre Dame, ESPN". dailypress.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- "2019-2020 College Football Playoff, New Year's Six, Bowl Schedule, Conference Matchups". CollegeFootballNews.com. January 14, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
- "86th Capital One Orange Bowl now Scheduled for Primetime". orangebowl.org (Press release). May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- "College Football Bowl Schedule 2020". fbschedules.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- "Dates Announced for College Football Playoff Games Through 2026". collegefootballplayoff.com (Press release). August 30, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2019.