{"version":"1.19","updatedOn":"2026-10-09","reviewedOn":"2026-10-08","completedBatches":[1,2,10],"batchesInProgress":[3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12],"decisionProcess":{"openQuestions":[{"id":"ECON-SCHOOLS","title":"Schools: what do they actually keep?","target":"school-cases","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"An authorized school finance contact would need to supply event settlements, ticket agreements, expense ledgers and reimbursement terms. Public benchmarks alone cannot price a new event.","acceptanceTest":"Compare retained cash for the same school, round and accounting period. Include ticket obligations, reimbursements, staffing, travel and incremental facility costs once.","holdOrReopen":"Amend the case if documented costs or realistic demand reverse the school return. Hold approval while material costs or payers are missing.","findingIds":[]},{"id":"ECON-MEDIA","title":"Media: is the added value spendable?","target":"media-calendar","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"An authorized rights holder would need to supply applicable rights terms, amendment requirements, priced offers and payment schedules. A broadcaster's valuation needs its assumptions and scope.","acceptanceTest":"Identify who owns each right, what can be sold, which existing inventory is displaced, and when cash arrives. More games or viewers do not establish a negotiated fee.","holdOrReopen":"Hold approval without authority to sell the inventory or a binding funding path. Revise windows if the commercial or recovery assumptions fail.","findingIds":[]},{"id":"ECON-BOWLS","title":"Bowls: does the transition work?","target":"bowl-economics","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"Bowl operators and authorized host partners would need to supply settlements, venue and sponsor terms, ticket commitments and a funded transition plan. Any city-impact estimate needs its method and baseline.","acceptanceTest":"Separate bowl operator cash, school receipts and host-city visitor spending. Test sponsorship, hospitality, ticket demand and transition obligations against the proposed round.","holdOrReopen":"Amend the transition if a credible settlement shows lost value. Hold approval while obligations, replacement agreements or transition funding are unresolved.","findingIds":[]},{"id":"ECON-ACCESS","title":"Athletes and fans: is access funded?","target":"access-costs","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"Athlete and student representatives should review the service plan; schools and providers would need to supply travel, lodging, medical, family and student-access quotes and funding commitments.","acceptanceTest":"Check service standards, eligibility, capacity, actual out-of-pocket costs and payment deadlines on the longest paths. Positive event cash does not establish affordable attendance.","holdOrReopen":"Hold approval if protected services, safe recovery or access commitments cannot be delivered and funded. Do not balance the plan by silently removing promised support.","findingIds":[]},{"id":"ECON-ACCOUNTING","title":"Accounting: does the whole budget reconcile?","target":"ecosystem-budget","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"An independent accounting reviewer would need the consolidated ledger, transaction identifiers, source documents, accounting policies and explanations of exclusions, plus school and operator reconciliations.","acceptanceTest":"Use one stated perimeter and period. Reconcile payer and recipient ledgers, remove internal transfers from external revenue, and distinguish operating cost, capital, reserves and local impact.","holdOrReopen":"Hold any total that depends on double counting, unexplained exclusions or unknown inputs treated as zero. Reprice the full system after a material correction.","findingIds":[]},{"id":"ECON-GOVERNANCE","title":"Governance: who carries the downside?","target":"downside-tests","status":"Awaiting evidence","accountableOwner":null,"decisionDate":null,"requiredEvidence":"Authorized decision-makers and their advisers would need to supply commitments, guarantee and reserve terms, withdrawal conditions, approval records and a signed allocation of shortfall responsibility.","acceptanceTest":"Stress combined low receipts, high costs and late cash. Establish approval authority, reserve access, payment priority, shortfall responsibility and the procedure for changing a sporting rule.","holdOrReopen":"Hold adoption if cash is unavailable when obligations fall due or no accountable party covers the gap. A financial finding may trigger a sporting-policy review; it does not silently change the bracket.","findingIds":[]}],"status":"Process published—financial adoption unresolved","decisions":[],"automaticRefreshEnabled":false,"policyApproved":false,"steps":[{"title":"1. Record the new evidence","body":"Give each document a stable identifier, date, provider, accounting period and permitted public summary. Record what it supports, what it cannot establish and which packet version it replaces. Keep the previous record."},{"title":"2. Reconcile the affected cases","body":"Trace each correction through school returns, bowl transition, access costs, distributions, the whole budget and downside cash timing. Recalculate comparable scenarios at the same cutoff; missing inputs remain unresolved."},{"title":"3. Obtain a written review","body":"Name the reviewer, authority, conflicts and remaining objections. Keep supported, conditional, unresolved and contradicted findings distinct. A positive review in one area does not approve the entire format."},{"title":"4. Make an explicit decision","body":"Identify the accountable decision-maker and the authority actually held. Choose retain, amend, defer or reject, explain the evidence and tradeoffs, and record dissent and conditions. Website publication is not approval by schools, conferences, bowls or rights holders."},{"title":"5. Publish the matching version","body":"Update affected chapters, page summaries, calculations and downloads together. Record the evidence cutoff, assumptions and material differences in the changelog. Do not describe a proposal requirement as a signed commitment."}],"options":[{"title":"Retain the sporting format; revise the financial plan","target":"ecosystem-budget","test":"Can documented prices, authorized sharing, transition terms and accessible funding meet the existing commitments without weakening access or sporting rewards?","limit":"A better spreadsheet is not a funding commitment. Unpriced obligations or unfunded services keep adoption on hold."},{"title":"Consider a targeted policy amendment","target":"proposal-integration","test":"If credible evidence overturns a key assumption, compare a specific change with the existing proposal using complete game inventory, school cash, access, media, bowl and recovery effects.","limit":"Do not optimize television income alone or quietly alter field size, byes, hosting or dates. Record who benefits, who pays and which guarantees would change."},{"title":"Defer or reject the financial case","target":"downside-tests","test":"Does the plan lack sale authority, viable cash timing, a funded service standard or an accountable shortfall owner after review?","limit":"State the failed condition and what evidence would reopen it. Do not claim feasibility merely because no alternative has been priced."}],"triggers":[{"title":"New terms or priced records","body":"Recheck the affected case when a rights offer, contract amendment, settlement, provider quote or reserve commitment arrives. Confirm scope, expiry and authority before replacing an input."},{"title":"Material corrections or objections","body":"Reopen linked calculations when a source is corrected, a cost is omitted, a transfer is duplicated or a reviewer challenges a material assumption. Preserve the correction and its consequences."},{"title":"Calendar, access or operating changes","body":"Recheck windows, recovery, travel, venue capacity and funding when the actual operating conditions change. A previously reviewed cash case does not certify a different itinerary."},{"title":"Before a decision or public feasibility claim","body":"Reconfirm every material input and commitment at a stated cutoff. Label expired, superseded and unavailable evidence; never silently carry it forward as current."}],"logFields":["Decision ID and proposal version","Question, alternatives and affected rules","Evidence cutoff, linked findings and unresolved inputs","Accountable decision-maker and actual authority","Outcome, rationale, tradeoffs and dissent","Funding and service conditions; who verifies them","Effective date, affected publications and reopening trigger"],"readiness":"The framework is built. Documented prices, authorized terms, funded access, outside findings and binding shortfall coverage are still needed before the financial case can be adopted."},"feedbackEvidence":{"updatedOn":"2026-10-09","basis":"Qualitative feedback themes, not a representative survey or stakeholder endorsement.","venueVerdict":"A neutral-site financial advantage is not established by the sources checked here. Campus hosting is not proven financially better either.","nextCase":"Compare one school at the same playoff stage under campus and destination scenarios. Identify who keeps receipts, who pays every cost, when cash arrives and who covers a shortfall. Leave missing prices blank.","priorities":[{"id":"venue-cash","title":"Do neutral sites generate more usable money?","status":"Four public sources checked; venue advantage unresolved","target":"school-cash","decisionId":"ECON-SCHOOLS","sourceIds":["orange-impact-2026","rose-impact-2024","cfp-payments","cfp-rights"],"test":"Compare the same school, round and period. Separate rights payments, retained school cash, operator margin and local visitor activity; reconcile internal transfers once.","missing":"Matched event settlements, school sharing terms, complete hosting and travel costs, rights offers and cash dates.","reconsider":"If comparable net cash and funded access consistently favor destination games, reconsider the financial case for later campus rounds through an explicit policy review—not a silent venue change."},{"id":"student-access","title":"Can students actually attend a winter campus game?","status":"Existing access cases; funding and service delivery unresolved","target":"access-costs","decisionId":"ECON-ACCESS","sourceIds":[],"test":"Use each campus's actual exams and break dates. Verify tickets, housing, dining, transport, accessibility and staffing along the longest paths.","missing":"Local service plans, dated provider quotes, eligibility and capacity, payment commitments and fallback authority.","reconsider":"A campus that cannot deliver funded access and safe operation needs the existing hosting fallback; a campus label alone does not pass the test."},{"id":"bowl-transition","title":"What do displaced bowls and communities lose?","status":"Historical participants identified; transition cash unresolved","target":"bowl-economics","decisionId":"ECON-BOWLS","sourceIds":["orange-impact-2026","rose-impact-2024"],"test":"Follow displaced teams into the historical comparison, then test contracts, dates, sponsorship and replacement demand separately. Keep alumni-market access distinct from immediate cash.","missing":"Operator settlements, contract obligations, alumni-origin evidence and agreed, funded transition terms.","reconsider":"If a credible transition case fails, revise or defer that transition. Keeping a bowl name does not preserve its full business; no closure or loss amount is assumed."},{"id":"field-quality","title":"Why eighteen—not just how eighteen works?","status":"Historical comparison published; sporting judgment remains open","target":"/evidence/playoff-comparison","decisionId":null,"sourceIds":[],"test":"Inspect added entrants' selection-date records, best wins, schedule context, champion exceptions and displaced destinations across seasons.","missing":"Broader comparable seasons and an explicit assessment of access, competitive benefit and game burden—not a new arbitrary win threshold.","reconsider":"Repeated weak additions, little competitive benefit or access concentrated in already dominant conferences would count against expansion. Any field-size revision requires the owner's decision."},{"id":"bye-rest","title":"Does a longer bye remain a reward?","status":"Mechanics and simulation are not a causal rest study","target":"/evidence","decisionId":null,"sourceIds":[],"test":"Compare days since the last actual game, title-game participation, practice, recovery and travel against arithmetically feasible alternatives.","missing":"Comparable historical rest data and sensitivity tests that do not build a favorable rest effect into win probabilities.","reconsider":"If the longer gap creates an unacceptable competitive or player burden, review a feasible alternative while checking champion access, rounds and calendar. A single upset proves no causal effect."},{"id":"first-minute","title":"Can a new reader explain the idea in a minute?","status":"Short guide published; reader check not recorded","target":"/playoff#one-minute","decisionId":null,"sourceIds":[],"test":"Ask five unfamiliar readers to explain field size, the top-two reward, reseeding and that this is a proposal after a minute without looking.","missing":"Recorded misunderstandings and corrected wording; no comprehension result or support rate is claimed.","reconsider":"If readers cannot explain it, shorten or clarify the introduction—not the underlying rules. Five readers are a usability check, not public validation."}]},"sourceChecks":[{"sourceId":"osu-fy25-announcement","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"University annual context checked; event settlement unresolved","finding":"The January 2026 university announcement confirms one home playoff game and three destination playoff games within FY2025.","limit":"Department-wide revenue growth cannot be attributed to one game. The rounded secondary hosting figures still require primary settlement verification.","reopenWhen":"Event settlements, allocated costs or dated remittance records become available.","sourceDate":"2026-01-30","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"miami-checkbook","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Search guidance checked; transaction results unverified","finding":"The county describes monthly updates, payee and date searches, disbursement identifiers and VOID markers.","limit":"The interactive dashboard did not load reliably. No payment was verified; guidance labels the data unaudited and unconsolidated and not a substitute for underlying records.","reopenWhen":"The dashboard loads or event-linked vouchers and reconciliation records become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"miami-request-policy","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Fee policy checked; request draft not submitted","finding":"Copying and extended processing can incur charges. The published draft authorizes zero fees and requests a stop before chargeable work.","limit":"No fee waiver, records delivery, custodian acceptance or outreach is claimed.","reopenWhen":"The county changes its policy or an authorized request receives a response.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"miami-public-support-2024","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Adopted support policy checked; actual payments unresolved","finding":"R-158-24 separates conditional cash and fire-rescue support for the 2026 quarterfinal and championship.","limit":"No disbursements, full public cost, operator profit or net community benefit are verified.","reopenWhen":"Funding agreements, payment records and service costs become available.","sourceDate":"2024-02-21","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"acc-viewership-2025","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Distribution components checked; allocation formula unresolved","finding":"The ACC's March 2025 announcement adds annual football and men's basketball viewership distributions alongside success initiatives.","limit":"No current CFP pass-through rate, school allocation formula or dollar settlement is supplied.","reopenWhen":"Executed allocation rules, amended terms or school settlements become available.","sourceDate":"2025-03-04","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"gt-distributions-2026","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Institutional announcement checked; finalized filing unresolved","finding":"Georgia Tech reports 9% ACC distribution growth for 2025–26, citing bowl qualification, final CFP ranking and football viewership.","limit":"The July announcement says financial reporting remains to be finalized. No incentive dollar split or event profit is established.","reopenWhen":"The finalized financial filing or itemized ACC allocation becomes available.","sourceDate":"2026-07-07","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"osu-host-report-2025","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Secondary report checked; underlying settlement not verified","finding":"Athletic Business cites Dispatch records reporting of $15 million ticket revenue and $5.1 million net revenue for Ohio State's 2024 Tennessee home playoff game.","limit":"Rounded reported amounts are not a reconciled all-in profit, current hosting terms or a matched venue verdict. No primary event settlement was obtained here.","reopenWhen":"The underlying event settlement and cost perimeter become available.","sourceDate":"2025-09-17","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"bay-area-host-2019","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Historical commission term checked; current terms unresolved","finding":"PDF page 3 identifies a 20% CFP share of concession commission, not gross sales. Offsite applicability and the related payment were unresolved.","limit":"2019 neutral championship only. This procedures report gives no audit opinion and records exceptions and a refused management representation; no school profit is established.","reopenWhen":"Current hosting agreements or a resolved event settlement become available.","sourceDate":"2023-03-31","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"osu-fy25","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","finding":"Pages 8 and 15 confirm the existing receipts and expense rows. Page 41 separately allocates $10,665,018 of category 13A postseason distributions to football; this was outside the earlier subtotal.","limit":"Annual accounting categories do not isolate a matched campus or destination game, all related receipts or cash dates. The expanded subtotal is not profit.","reopenWhen":"An event settlement, revised filing or applicable school sharing terms become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"psu-fy25","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","finding":"Pages 8 and 15 confirm the existing receipts and expense rows. Page 38 allocates $20,530,530 of category 13A to football, not the $20,818,587 all-sports total.","limit":"Annual totals cannot rank venue returns or school efficiency. Use the football allocation once, not the entire all-sports distribution.","reopenWhen":"An event settlement, revised filing or applicable school sharing terms become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"orange-impact-2026","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Published figures confirmed; model not independently validated","finding":"The release separates the January 2026 quarterfinal's $208.6 million regional output from its $112.1 million media-exposure estimate. It is not a school or operator settlement.","limit":"No matched campus counterfactual, school net return or spendable rights fee is established. The underlying model still needs review.","reopenWhen":"A corrected release, full methodology or event settlement becomes available.","sourceDate":"2026-09-17","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"rose-impact-2024","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Combined scope confirmed; game-only return unresolved","finding":"The July 2024 release reports $245 million of regional impact for the parade and game together, not the game's profit alone.","limit":"The figure does not price an earlier bowl round or isolate money retained by a school.","reopenWhen":"A game-only breakdown, full methodological review or changed event plan becomes available.","sourceDate":"2024-07-30","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-payments","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Published payment scope confirmed; school share unresolved","finding":"For 2026–27 the CFP page specifies $3.18 million per participating conference team per round for expenses; remaining distributions are to be finalized after the championship and paid in spring 2027.","limit":"A conference expense payment is not a guaranteed school profit or a payment schedule for the proposed format. Conference sharing and actual costs still matter.","reopenWhen":"The remaining 2026–27 distributions or applicable school sharing terms are published.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-rights","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Announced rights scope confirmed; alternative pricing unresolved","finding":"ESPN's March 2024 announcement covers all CFP rounds through 2031–32 and permits selected sublicensing. It does not state a venue-specific fee for the proposed format.","limit":"This checks the announcement, not executed contract terms, later amendments or the price of an 18-team proposal. Its historical format description is not today's rulebook.","reopenWhen":"New rights terms, authorized offers or amendments affecting the comparison become available.","sourceDate":"2024-03-19","supersedes":null}],"independentReview":{"status":"Prepared for review—not independently reviewed","findings":[],"adoptionApproved":false,"lanes":[{"id":"schools","title":"Schools: what do they actually keep?","target":"school-cases","test":"Compare retained cash for the same school, round and accounting period. Include ticket obligations, reimbursements, staffing, travel and incremental facility costs once.","records":"An authorized school finance contact would need to supply event settlements, ticket agreements, expense ledgers and reimbursement terms. Public benchmarks alone cannot price a new event.","response":"Amend the case if documented costs or realistic demand reverse the school return. Hold approval while material costs or payers are missing."},{"id":"media","title":"Media: is the added value spendable?","target":"media-calendar","test":"Identify who owns each right, what can be sold, which existing inventory is displaced, and when cash arrives. More games or viewers do not establish a negotiated fee.","records":"An authorized rights holder would need to supply applicable rights terms, amendment requirements, priced offers and payment schedules. A broadcaster's valuation needs its assumptions and scope.","response":"Hold approval without authority to sell the inventory or a binding funding path. Revise windows if the commercial or recovery assumptions fail."},{"id":"bowls","title":"Bowls: does the transition work?","target":"bowl-economics","test":"Separate bowl operator cash, school receipts and host-city visitor spending. Test sponsorship, hospitality, ticket demand and transition obligations against the proposed round.","records":"Bowl operators and authorized host partners would need to supply settlements, venue and sponsor terms, ticket commitments and a funded transition plan. Any city-impact estimate needs its method and baseline.","response":"Amend the transition if a credible settlement shows lost value. Hold approval while obligations, replacement agreements or transition funding are unresolved."},{"id":"access","title":"Athletes and fans: is access funded?","target":"access-costs","test":"Check service standards, eligibility, capacity, actual out-of-pocket costs and payment deadlines on the longest paths. Positive event cash does not establish affordable attendance.","records":"Athlete and student representatives should review the service plan; schools and providers would need to supply travel, lodging, medical, family and student-access quotes and funding commitments.","response":"Hold approval if protected services, safe recovery or access commitments cannot be delivered and funded. Do not balance the plan by silently removing promised support."},{"id":"accounting","title":"Accounting: does the whole budget reconcile?","target":"ecosystem-budget","test":"Use one stated perimeter and period. Reconcile payer and recipient ledgers, remove internal transfers from external revenue, and distinguish operating cost, capital, reserves and local impact.","records":"An independent accounting reviewer would need the consolidated ledger, transaction identifiers, source documents, accounting policies and explanations of exclusions, plus school and operator reconciliations.","response":"Hold any total that depends on double counting, unexplained exclusions or unknown inputs treated as zero. Reprice the full system after a material correction."},{"id":"governance","title":"Governance: who carries the downside?","target":"downside-tests","test":"Stress combined low receipts, high costs and late cash. Establish approval authority, reserve access, payment priority, shortfall responsibility and the procedure for changing a sporting rule.","records":"Authorized decision-makers and their advisers would need to supply commitments, guarantee and reserve terms, withdrawal conditions, approval records and a signed allocation of shortfall responsibility.","response":"Hold adoption if cash is unavailable when obligations fall due or no accountable party covers the gap. A financial finding may trigger a sporting-policy review; it does not silently change the bracket."}],"recordFields":["Document and version","Provider and authority to share","Season, round and accounting period","Payer, recipient and retained amount","Included costs, exclusions and transfer identifiers","Source or calculation and uncertainty","Cash dates, restrictions and shortfall owner","Verification status and permitted public summary"],"findingFields":["Claim tested and packet version","Evidence and reviewer conflicts","Supported, conditional, unresolved or contradicted","Material effect on cash, access or timing","Correction or objection and proposal response","Decision owner, date and next evidence required"],"launchGate":"Adoption remains on hold until authorized terms, reconciled priced inputs, funded services and accessible downside coverage support the same complete plan."},"proposalIntegration":[{"slug":"18-team-playoff","title":"The 18-team playoff","target":"ecosystem-budget","heading":"Fund the complete playoff path","body":"The 17-game CFP needs a full budget, not a multiplication of extra games by an assumed television price. Reconcile retained rights, tickets, sponsorship and hospitality against travel, hosting, production, access services and shared obligations. Compare the same round and matchup under campus and neutral-site alternatives. Separate expense support from advancement rewards so an earned bye does not create an unfunded obligation or pressure a team to play an unnecessary game."},{"slug":"bowl-ecosystem","title":"The bowl ecosystem","target":"bowl-economics","heading":"Test the bowls in their proposed role","body":"A dedicated Round-of-12 weekend gives the six bowls a clear competitive role, but their earlier dates and different matchups need a new commercial case. Evaluate each operator's settlement, school receipts, sponsorship, hospitality, attendance and local public-service costs against the existing event. Regional visitor spending is not operator profit or money available to fund athlete services. Price and fund contract transition obligations before replacing existing inventory."},{"slug":"national-tournament","title":"The National Tournament","target":"distributions","heading":"Give the second tournament a funded operating floor","body":"The 16-team National Tournament adds 15 games and must be included alongside the CFP in the 32-game tournament budget. Test a right-sized neutral final, campus hosting and every team's travel and access commitments using the tournament's own demand assumptions. Do not borrow a CFP audience or payout to price this competition. Identify its protected operating floor, payment dates and shortfall owner before offering participation; the allocation remains unagreed until independently reviewed."},{"slug":"national-calendar","title":"The national calendar","target":"media-calendar","heading":"Clear the windows and the cash deadlines","body":"A proposed date is not a secured broadcast window or an additional rights payment. Evaluate competing programming, production capacity, displaced inventory and negotiated fallbacks before estimating incremental retained value. Map travel deposits, hosting work and access payments against receipt dates for each responsible entity. A positive annual budget cannot excuse a cash shortage before a game, and a television preference cannot waive recovery or academic protections."},{"slug":"athlete-rights-responsibilities","title":"Athlete rights and responsibilities","target":"access-costs","heading":"Make support usable before travel","body":"Cost medical and recovery services, independent advice, family assistance where adopted, and accessible student attendance as explicit obligations rather than leftover benefits. Record eligible participants, service standards, dated quotes, responsible payers and advance-payment deadlines. An institutional reimbursement is not automatically an individual entitlement. Publish aggregate service outcomes without exposing private athlete information, and do not use promised services as the balancing item when receipts disappoint."},{"slug":"national-governance","title":"National governance","target":"downside-tests","heading":"Assign financial authority and downside responsibility","body":"The governing compact must identify who can approve the budget, who holds protected funds and who can authorize a reserve draw. Institutions, rights holders and event operators need enforceable payment and shortfall terms; a proposed backstop is not available cash. Independent review must examine conflicts, inter-entity transfers and payment deadlines, with a public explanation of funding gaps and the conditions that would stop launch."},{"slug":"economics-transition-validation","title":"Economics and adoption","target":"ecosystem-budget","heading":"Require one reconciled financial launch case","body":"The launch record must reconcile the 17-game CFP and 15-game National Tournament, separately define any voluntary bowl inventory, and distinguish one-time adoption costs from recurring operations. Price shared athlete and governance obligations once; eliminate transfers when consolidating while preserving each entity's ability to pay on time. Combine weaker demand, lower receipts, higher costs and delayed payments in downside tests. Identify accessible reserves and binding shortfall commitments before approval. The published worksheets establish a review structure, not financial feasibility: prices, settlements and committed funding remain unresolved."}],"downside":{"status":"Stress-test framework published; actual exposure and coverage unresolved","actualUsableReserve":null,"bindingGuarantee":null,"actualPeakCashNeed":null,"coverageApproved":false,"examples":[{"id":"baseline","title":"Positive closing balance; early bills","openingCash":10,"usableReserve":15,"periods":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":20},{"order":2,"label":"Early receipts","receipts":30,"payments":0},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds","receipts":0,"payments":15},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":20,"payments":0}],"result":{"timeline":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":20,"balanceBeforeReserve":-10},{"order":2,"label":"Early receipts","receipts":30,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":20},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds","receipts":0,"payments":15,"balanceBeforeReserve":5},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":20,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":25}],"closingBeforeReserve":25,"peakCashNeed":10,"usableReserve":15,"uncoveredPeak":0,"reserveCoverage":true}},{"id":"combined","title":"Lower receipts and higher costs together","openingCash":10,"usableReserve":15,"periods":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":30},{"order":2,"label":"Early receipts","receipts":20,"payments":0},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds and relocation","receipts":0,"payments":25},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":20,"payments":0}],"result":{"timeline":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":30,"balanceBeforeReserve":-20},{"order":2,"label":"Early receipts","receipts":20,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":0},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds and relocation","receipts":0,"payments":25,"balanceBeforeReserve":-25},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":20,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":-5}],"closingBeforeReserve":-5,"peakCashNeed":25,"usableReserve":15,"uncoveredPeak":10,"reserveCoverage":false}},{"id":"late","title":"Same annual receipts; delayed payment","openingCash":10,"usableReserve":15,"periods":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":20},{"order":2,"label":"Delayed receipts","receipts":0,"payments":0},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds","receipts":0,"payments":15},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":50,"payments":0}],"result":{"timeline":[{"order":1,"label":"Bookings","receipts":0,"payments":20,"balanceBeforeReserve":-10},{"order":2,"label":"Delayed receipts","receipts":0,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":-10},{"order":3,"label":"Later rounds","receipts":0,"payments":15,"balanceBeforeReserve":-25},{"order":4,"label":"Final settlement","receipts":50,"payments":0,"balanceBeforeReserve":25}],"closingBeforeReserve":25,"peakCashNeed":25,"usableReserve":15,"uncoveredPeak":10,"reserveCoverage":false}}],"risks":[{"id":"demand","title":"Lower receipts","test":"Reduce documented ticket, hospitality and variable sponsor receipts together where they depend on the same demand. Keep contracted rights receipts fixed unless the contract creates a relevant default, deduction or amendment exposure.","evidence":"Contracts, paid demand, refund terms, sponsor obligations and a supported range—not an arbitrary reduction to every revenue stream."},{"id":"cost","title":"Higher travel and service costs","test":"Change affected quantities and comparable provider prices. Preserve required care, accessible transport and student services; do not balance the case by quietly removing them.","evidence":"Dated quotes, cancellation terms, staffing, travel itineraries, taxes, insurance and overrun responsibility."},{"id":"relocation","title":"A host cannot stage the game","test":"Combine standby venue and transport costs, refunds, lost receipts and sunk host costs. Count avoidable costs or insurance recoveries only where supported and payable in time.","evidence":"Certified alternatives, deposits, relocation triggers, deductible and exclusion terms, provider availability and a named responsible payer."},{"id":"timing","title":"Money arrives after bills are due","test":"Move receipts to the actual later settlement date without treating the delay as lost revenue. Test every payment deadline and restricted balance—not just year-end cash.","evidence":"Receipt schedules, approved advances, accessible reserves, enforceable facilities and the conditions for drawing them."},{"id":"transition","title":"An expensive adoption year","test":"Keep pilot, contract, setup and capital outlays separate from steady-state operations. Combine transition overruns with weaker launch demand and delayed receipts.","evidence":"Phased commitments, exit terms, funding before signature, existing obligations and a separate adoption-year cash schedule."}],"response":["Confirm the shortfall and the services or payments affected; notify the responsible governing body and protected-service representatives.","Use only approved, accessible reserves or binding funding facilities. Track draws, restrictions and repayment separately from revenue.","Hold discretionary sharing where necessary; honor protected services and existing commitments through the agreed backstop—not an assumed rescue by schools or families.","If obligations still cannot be funded, fail or defer the launch gate and follow the agreed contingency process. No automatic sporting-rule change is authorized.","Publish aggregate draws, unresolved gaps, decisions and replenishment requirements; independently review before the next commitment."]},"budget":{"status":"Budget structure published; dollar inputs and full coverage unresolved","scope":"CFP plus National Tournament and shared obligations; voluntary bowls remain a separate undefined inventory. Included entities and accounting period must be stated before consolidation.","tournamentRounds":[{"round":"Round of 16","games":8,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":8},{"round":"Quarterfinals","games":4,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":4},{"round":"Semifinals","games":2,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":2},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"venue":"Neutral","teamsAfter":1}],"cfp":{"games":17,"campus":10,"bowl":6,"neutral":1},"tournament":{"games":15,"campus":14,"bowl":0,"neutral":1},"combined":{"games":32,"campus":24,"bowl":6,"neutral":2},"voluntaryBowlGames":null,"budgetLines":[{"id":"rights","kind":"externalReceipt","title":"Contracted media and central sponsorship","scope":"Separate CFP and National Tournament rights; count a bundled contract once and document any allocation.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"events-income","kind":"externalReceipt","title":"Event receipts","scope":"Tickets, hospitality, concessions and local sponsors retained inside the defined system; refunds and fees need consistent treatment.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"cfp-events","kind":"externalCost","title":"CFP events and participant travel","scope":"All 17 games: providers, venues, team travel and funded attendance services; reference the access ledger rather than adding its costs twice.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"nt-events","kind":"externalCost","title":"National Tournament events and travel","scope":"All 15 games: three campus rounds and a separate destination final. Price lower-resource visitors, protected weeknights, travel, host services and production.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"athlete-services","kind":"externalCost","title":"Athlete obligations beyond event invoices","scope":"Health, insurance, education, independent advice, representation, data protections and post-eligibility commitments; include obligations continuing between games or after the season.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"administration","kind":"externalCost","title":"Governance, administration and oversight","scope":"Staff, rankings and data, officials not already on event bills, independent review, audit, disputes, legal work and reporting.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"transition","kind":"externalCost","title":"One-time transition and committed capital","scope":"Contract amendments, operator transition, pilots, setup and incremental facilities. Separate adoption-year cash from recurring costs and depreciation.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"reserve","kind":"reserveAddition","title":"New reserve contribution","scope":"Document the required set-aside, existing usable reserves, draw rules and replenishment. The addition is withheld cash, not an operating expense.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null},{"id":"sharing","kind":"internalTransfer","title":"Base, participant and advancement transfers","scope":"Show payments between included organizers, conferences and schools in recipient ledgers; eliminate them once in consolidation. Record actual external supplier costs separately.","amount":null,"competition":null,"payer":null,"recipient":null,"source":null,"dueDate":null,"scenario":null,"recurring":null}],"total":null,"approvedBudget":null,"committedFunding":null,"boundaries":["Keep the current-format baseline, proposed steady-state year and adoption year separate, with the same price basis and accounting perimeter.","Do not assume National Tournament audiences, ticket demand or production costs match the CFP. A shared rights package needs one receipt and a documented allocation.","Separate cash outlays, recurring operating expenses, capital investment, depreciation and financing; neither borrowing nor reserve draws create operating revenue.","Treat local visitor spending and private fan expenses outside the organizer budget unless a specific subsidy or retained receipt enters it.","A positive consolidated result can hide an unfunded school or service. Reconcile the organizer, conference, school and provider ledgers and their payment deadlines too."]},"distributions":{"status":"Framework and illustrative tests published; allocations unagreed","sourceIds":["cfp-payments"],"approvedSharingTerms":null,"committedShortfallFunding":null,"reserveRequirement":null,"scope":"Separate CFP, National Tournament and voluntary-bowl ledgers; consolidate internal transfers once. No actual revenue estimate or allocation percentage is adopted.","examples":[{"id":"covered","name":"Costs covered; cash arrives in time","input":{"receipts":100,"obligations":70,"reserveAddition":10,"cashAvailableByDeadline":40,"paymentsDueByDeadline":30},"result":{"balance":20,"fundingGap":0,"timingGap":0,"distributable":20}},{"id":"shortfall","name":"Revenue falls short","input":{"receipts":60,"obligations":70,"reserveAddition":10,"cashAvailableByDeadline":40,"paymentsDueByDeadline":30},"result":{"balance":-20,"fundingGap":20,"timingGap":0,"distributable":0}},{"id":"late","name":"Enough revenue; cash arrives late","input":{"receipts":100,"obligations":70,"reserveAddition":10,"cashAvailableByDeadline":10,"paymentsDueByDeadline":30},"result":{"balance":20,"fundingGap":0,"timingGap":20,"distributable":0}},{"id":"unknown","name":"An obligation has no price yet","input":{"receipts":100,"obligations":null,"reserveAddition":10,"cashAvailableByDeadline":40,"paymentsDueByDeadline":30},"result":null}],"paymentTypes":[{"id":"costs","title":"Required costs","purpose":"Document travel, care, insurance, family assistance, education, student access and event operations. Identify the service, eligible recipient, standard, payer and deadline.","control":"Advance against approved costs where needed; reconcile invoices, returns and unused balances. A cap needs an exception process for necessary care, accessible travel or relocation—not a silent cut to services."},{"id":"base","title":"Base distributions","purpose":"The proposal preserves conference base distributions. Obtain existing commitments and proposed sharing terms before calculating what remains available.","control":"A conference receipt is not automatically a school receipt. Publish the allocation formula and actual school share; do not assume an equal split."},{"id":"rewards","title":"Participation and advancement","purpose":"Keep sporting rewards separate from reimbursement. Define whether a payment follows qualification, entry into a round, or winning a game.","control":"Test bye recipients and opening-round entrants at the same achieved stage. More games may require more cost coverage, but should not make losing early financially preferable to an earned bye."},{"id":"host","title":"Hosting and event settlements","purpose":"Resolve who owns tickets, hospitality and sponsorship, who pays event costs, and what the certified host retains.","control":"Settle gross receipts, deductions, approved costs and transfers explicitly. Test winter-break services and neutral fallbacks; selection rank and host certification must not depend on willingness to absorb an unfunded loss."},{"id":"tournament","title":"National Tournament protection","purpose":"Maintain a distinct funded tournament pool. The proposal gives an outside-the-Power-Four CFP qualifier at least the tournament participant distribution plus its CFP distribution.","control":"Price that protected floor and reconcile eligibility before launch. Do not reimburse a trip never taken, or count the same underlying expense in both competitions. CFP selection remains mandatory under the proposal."}],"settlementFields":["Competition, school, conference, season and round","Payment category and eligibility trigger","Source of funds and responsible payer","Gross entitlement, deductions and retained school share","Advance amount, due date and settlement date","Actual eligible costs, refunds and duplicate-payment checks","Shortfall owner, fallback terms and dispute process","Evidence, approval, audit status and public aggregate reporting"],"gates":["Reconcile the full ecosystem budget, including protected services, contracted base payments, administration and funded transition—not just the CFP events.","Document eligible costs, direct recipients, conference sharing, title paths and the protected tournament floor without double-counting transfers.","Test low receipts, cost inflation, late rights payments and a relocated host together. Name a solvent shortfall funder and a credible cash facility; neither is established here.","Set reserve coverage, replenishment, draw authority and reporting from documented downside needs, not an arbitrary percentage of revenue.","Require independent review, athlete input, published aggregate settlements and an appeal route before adopting any allocation formula."]},"access":{"status":"Costing framework published; quotes and funded benefit terms unresolved","scope":"CFP access and incremental services. National Tournament and voluntary bowls require separate budgets; individual fan spending stays outside organizer cash unless explicitly subsidized.","sourceIds":["cfp-payments","cfp-family-history"],"approvedBenefitTerms":null,"committedFunding":null,"totalCostEstimate":null,"rounds":[{"round":"Campus opening round","games":4,"venue":"Campus","window":"Dec 8–15","teamAppearances":8},{"round":"CFP Bowl Weekend","games":6,"venue":"Bowl","window":"Dec 15–22","teamAppearances":12},{"round":"Campus quarterfinals","games":4,"venue":"Campus","window":"Dec 31–Jan 2","teamAppearances":8},{"round":"Campus semifinals","games":2,"venue":"Campus","window":"Jan 5–11","teamAppearances":4},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"venue":"Neutral","window":"Jan 12–18","teamAppearances":2}],"appearances":{"current":22,"proposed":34},"routes":[{"teams":2,"name":"Skip two rounds","entry":"Quarterfinals","wins":3,"campusGames":2,"destinationGames":1,"awayCampusTrips":null},{"teams":8,"name":"Skip one round","entry":"CFP Bowl Weekend","wins":4,"campusGames":2,"destinationGames":2,"awayCampusTrips":null},{"teams":8,"name":"Start in the opening round","entry":"Campus opening round","wins":5,"campusGames":3,"destinationGames":2,"awayCampusTrips":null}],"groups":[{"id":"athletes","title":"Athletes · care travels with the team","services":"Transport, equipment, meals, housing, medical and rehabilitation access, insurance and academic support. Cost the required support during byes and the no-game pause as well as game trips.","evidence":"Roster and staff headcounts, travel itineraries, rooming plans, provider quotes, academic calendars and negotiated care standards.","timing":"Reservations and service cover must exist before travel. Identify who advances cash and who pays if the conference reimbursement arrives later.","limit":"No proposed recovery interval is medically certified here. Athlete representatives and qualified medical staff must approve standards; the cheapest itinerary cannot override them."},{"id":"students","title":"Students · a campus game is not automatically accessible","services":"Affordable seats, transport, break housing and meals where needed. Include student workers and accessible attendance in host planning rather than assuming they are already on campus.","evidence":"Actual exam and break dates, available dorm and dining capacity, ticket allocations, bus quotes, demand surveys and staffing plans.","timing":"Publish eligibility, application deadlines and available capacity before ticket sales and host certification. Avoid requiring students to front money they cannot afford.","limit":"A seat discount alone does not make a trip affordable. Measure complete out-of-pocket cost and uptake, including students who cannot attend."},{"id":"families","title":"Athlete families · assistance must arrive in time","services":"Define eligible people, covered rounds, transport, tickets, lodging, meals, benefit limits, accessibility and a hardship or correction process. These terms remain to be negotiated.","evidence":"Current CFP terms, confidential aggregate demand, actual trip quotes, benefit administration costs and the responsible payer’s agreement.","timing":"Test advances or direct booking against reimbursement after the event. Establish decision deadlines, written reasons and a review route before bookings become non-refundable.","limit":"The 2016 CFP announcement is precedent, not today’s benefit schedule. No amount, recipient count or all-round family entitlement is adopted by this review."},{"id":"visitors","title":"Visiting fans · count the whole trip","services":"Tickets and fees, transport, hotels, meals, parking and accessibility. Compare traveling to a campus with traveling to a bowl at the same game stage; repeated trips matter.","evidence":"Comparable dated fare and lodging quotes, minimum stays, ticket prices and fees, refund conditions and anonymized fan surveys.","timing":"Show booking lead time and cancellation exposure. Publish host, ticket and accessibility information with enough notice to make the trip practical.","limit":"Ordinary fan spending is not automatically a funded benefit or school expense. Show it separately; add only explicitly funded subsidies to the organizer ledger."}],"costLines":[{"id":"team-transport","service":"Team transport","unit":"Charter or bus movement; price each leg and required equipment separately","owner":"School travel lead; organizer reimbursement terms to be agreed","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"team-stay","service":"Team lodging and meals","unit":"Occupied room-nights and meal-days; separate staff, athletes and taxes","owner":"School operations lead and event provider","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"care","service":"Recovery, medical and academic support","unit":"Required service days and incremental staffing, including bye and pause periods","owner":"School care and academic leads; independent welfare review","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"student","service":"Student tickets and access","unit":"Seat subsidy, transport seats, break housing nights and meal-days actually funded","owner":"Host student services and ticketing; central support to be agreed","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"family","service":"Athlete family assistance","unit":"Eligible traveler trips, lodging and meals under verified benefit terms","owner":"Designated benefits administrator and committed funder","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"accessible","service":"Accessible attendance","unit":"Accessible transport, seating and companion or assistance services as required","owner":"Venue accessibility and transport leads","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null},{"id":"standby","service":"Standby, cancellation and relocation","unit":"Quoted reservation deposits, cancellation exposure and fallback costs","owner":"Named organizer reserve or guarantor; terms to be agreed","quantity":null,"unitDollars":null,"source":null,"cashDue":null,"funder":null,"scenario":null,"costDollars":null}],"readiness":["Service and eligibility standards agreed with athlete representation and responsible institutions; medical, academic and accessibility review completed.","Dated quotes and quantities for each route, school and venue, with low, central and high cases and no unexplained blank rows.","A named payer, payment date, advance mechanism and remedy for each promised service; conference expense allowances reconciled without double-counting.","A combined downside case covering repeated travel, expensive flights, winter disruption, unsold capacity and delayed reimbursement, with committed reserves.","A public aggregate access report: funded seats, uptake, out-of-pocket ranges, unmet demand and service failures—without exposing individual family, medical or education records."]},"bowls":{"status":"Commercial review published; contracts and event cash unresolved","transitionBudget":null,"operatorNetEstimate":null,"approvedContractChanges":null,"sourceIds":["orange-impact-2026","rose-impact-2024","rose-strategy"],"impactExamples":[{"id":"orange-quarterfinal","title":"Orange Bowl · January 1, 2026","scope":"CFP quarterfinal in South Florida","outputDollars":208600000,"exposureValueDollars":112100000,"sourceId":"orange-impact-2026","limit":"Regional output and estimated exposure, not operator profit or a school payment."},{"id":"miami-title","title":"National championship · January 19, 2026","scope":"Separate title game in South Florida","outputDollars":210100000,"exposureValueDollars":355300000,"sourceId":"orange-impact-2026","limit":"A different round and matchup. The difference does not isolate venue or date effects."},{"id":"rose-combined","title":"Rose Parade and Rose Bowl · 2024","scope":"Combined parade and game in greater Los Angeles","combinedImpactDollars":245000000,"sourceId":"rose-impact-2024","limit":"Combined event scope; neither a game-only estimate nor transferable to December."}],"commercialTests":[{"id":"tickets","title":"Tickets and travel","question":"Would fans buy the earlier trip?","test":"Compare paid attendance, net ticket yield, school allotment obligations, refunds and unsold inventory. Test shorter booking lead times, work and exam conflicts, airfare, hotel nights and the cost of a possible later trip.","records":"Ticket settlement by sales channel; allotment contracts; anonymized visitor origins; booking, cancellation and hotel-block terms.","downside":"A desirable matchup can still sell poorly when travel is expensive. Assign unsold-ticket and hotel-block risk instead of assuming the school absorbs it."},{"id":"sponsors","title":"Sponsors and hospitality","question":"Would the new round deliver what partners bought?","test":"Review naming rights, exclusivity, suite and hospitality demand, activation dates, expected exposure and make-good obligations. Separate cash commitments from donated goods and modeled advertising value.","records":"Executed sponsor and hospitality agreements; renewal dates; cash schedules; comparable event settlements.","downside":"Earlier dates or a lower elimination stage could reduce renewal value. Show retention and repricing scenarios; no sponsor uplift is assumed."},{"id":"operations","title":"Operators and venues","question":"Who keeps the receipts and pays the bills?","test":"Reconcile event-level tickets, contracted distributions, sponsorship and hospitality against stadium rent, staffing, public safety, insurance, production, participant services and allocated overhead. Review charitable commitments separately.","records":"Operator event accounts; venue agreements; public-service settlements; insurance terms; audited annual accounts reconciled to the specific game.","downside":"An annual surplus does not establish one game's margin. Separate recurring operation from one-time transition cash and do not count internal payments twice."},{"id":"community","title":"Host cities and traditions","question":"What is gained—and what might be displaced?","test":"Measure additional non-local visitor spending, substitution, leakage, public costs and the no-event baseline. Keep direct spending, wider output, tax receipts and exposure in separate columns. Test hotel demand against the same dates without the event.","records":"Full impact methods and geography; visitor surveys; hotel data; public funding and service costs; parade or festival cross-attendance.","downside":"Moving a game can separate it from a festival and redistribute activity between cities. A city benefit is not automatically a school receipt or spendable playoff funding."}],"transitionPaths":[{"id":"expiry","title":"Honor compatible terms or wait for expiry","condition":"Identify every agreement's term, renewal notice and compatible event obligations before choosing a launch year.","cost":"Price interim operations and any overlap; an expiring contract is not necessarily a cost-free transition."},{"id":"amend","title":"Negotiate the changed event","condition":"Obtain consent to dates, round, venue, branding, broadcast and sponsor obligations, with an explicit risk allocation.","cost":"Document amendment costs and make-goods; replacement exposure is not cash unless the counterparty accepts it."},{"id":"replace","title":"Agree replacement inventory or a buyout","condition":"Test a kickoff or showcase on its own demand, rights and calendar. Secure agreement rather than assuming equivalence.","cost":"Record compensation, legal and launch costs, lost receipts and payment dates. Do not promise every displaced operator a viable replacement."}],"launchGates":["A contract inventory covering rights holders, six bowl operators, venues, sponsors, conferences and material public commitments, with expiry and notice dates.","Comparable event cash cases for the six sites, with low-demand tests, participant costs, public support and separate community effects.","Signed amendments, agreed replacements or documented expiry paths; a payer and due date for every transition obligation.","Committed funding for transition, athlete and student services and a tested downside reserve—not projected tourism or exposure value.","A public transition schedule consistent with the locked preseason slot map and six-year review, followed by event settlements and corrections."]},"media":{"referenceSeason":"2026–27","status":"Window review published; valuation and agreement outstanding","approvedKickoffs":null,"incrementalRightsEstimate":null,"proposedRounds":[{"round":"Campus opening round","games":4,"window":"Dec 8–15","review":"Fit four opening games around existing college events and other broadcasts. Check recovery from conference championships, exam calendars and production capacity."},{"round":"CFP Bowl Weekend","games":6,"window":"Dec 15–22","review":"Find room for six bowl games without assuming six exclusive prime-time slots. Review overlap with the current CFP opening round, other bowls and NFL games; earlier dates change the product being sold."},{"round":"Campus quarterfinals","games":4,"window":"Dec 31–Jan 2","review":"The New Year period already carries CFP quarterfinals. Test the venue change separately from the round's existing audience, and fund winter-break access and weather contingencies."},{"round":"Campus semifinals","games":2,"window":"Jan 5–11","review":"The 2026–27 reference puts NFL Week 18 on January 9–10, inside this illustrative window. Clear specific kickoffs and host readiness; do not call the entire week conflict-free."},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"window":"Jan 12–18","review":"NFL Wild Card Weekend is January 16–18 in the reference season. A Saturday target inside that weekend is not a protected window; the agreed fallback still needs pricing and approval."}],"currentRounds":[{"round":"First round","games":4,"dates":"Dec 18–19, 2026"},{"round":"Quarterfinals","games":4,"dates":"Dec 30, 2026 · Jan 1, 2027"},{"round":"Semifinals","games":2,"dates":"Jan 14–15, 2027"},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"dates":"Jan 25, 2027"}],"audienceExamples":[{"game":"Alabama at Oklahoma","round":"First round","viewersMillions":14.9,"distribution":"ESPN / ABC"},{"game":"Miami at Texas A&M","round":"First round","viewersMillions":14.8,"distribution":"ESPN / ABC"},{"game":"Tulane at Ole Miss","round":"First round","viewersMillions":6.2,"distribution":"TNT / TBS / HBO Max"},{"game":"James Madison at Oregon","round":"First round","viewersMillions":4.4,"distribution":"TNT / TBS / HBO Max"},{"game":"Miami vs. Indiana","round":"Championship","viewersMillions":30.1,"distribution":"ESPN MegaCast"}],"sourceIds":["cfp-calendar","cfp-rights","cfp-audiences","nfl-calendar"]},"schoolCases":[{"id":"ohio-state","name":"Ohio State","period":"FY2025","sourceId":"osu-fy25","receipts":17452406,"footballPostseasonDistributions":10665018,"distributionPage":41,"participationExpenses":11871668,"coachingBonuses":4892664,"hostExpenses":2223252,"gameNet":null},{"id":"penn-state","name":"Penn State","period":"FY2025","sourceId":"psu-fy25","receipts":5349583,"footballPostseasonDistributions":20530530,"distributionPage":38,"participationExpenses":6979412,"coachingBonuses":4096838,"hostExpenses":2523455,"gameNet":null}],"schoolCashCase":{"checkedOn":"2026-10-09","status":"Annual rows reconciled; matched event returns unavailable","primarySchool":"ohio-state","comparisonSchool":"penn-state","scope":"Annual football reporting categories, not one game or a matched venue experiment","correction":"The earlier four-row subtotal excluded category 13A football postseason distributions. It must not be interpreted as a postseason loss.","eventSettlementVerified":false,"campusGameNet":null,"destinationGameNet":null,"venueDifference":null,"requiredRecords":["Same-school, same-round event receipts and remittances","Hosting, travel, bonuses and access costs allocated once by event","Conference sharing terms and actual payment dates","Comparable destination terms or a clearly labeled counterfactual"]},"hosting":{"checkedOn":"2026-10-09","status":"One historical operator term checked; campus settlement unresolved","conferenceExpenses":{"sourceId":"cfp-payments","season":"2026-27","dollarsPerTeamPerRound":3180000,"recipient":"Conference","schoolRetainedDollars":null,"campusHostingFeeDollars":null},"historicalConcessions":{"sourceId":"bay-area-host-2019","eventDate":"2019-01-07","reportDate":"2023-03-31","pdfPage":3,"venue":"Levi's Stadium · neutral championship","recipient":"CFP Group","payer":"Host committee","rate":0.2,"base":"Food-and-beverage commission from the venue concessionaire","grossSalesRate":null,"currentCampusRate":null,"offsiteApplicability":null,"offsitePaymentVerified":false,"assurance":"Agreed-upon procedures, not an audit opinion; exceptions and refused management representation recorded."},"campusTerms":[{"id":"tickets","title":"Tickets and hospitality","retainedDollars":null,"required":"Executed hosting terms and sales-channel settlement: gross sales, refunds, remittances and retained share."},{"id":"ancillary","title":"Parking and concessions","retainedDollars":null,"required":"Venue and vendor agreements specifying the school share, commission base and settlement."},{"id":"operations","title":"Hosting and public safety","retainedDollars":null,"required":"Itemized operating costs, reimbursements, cost caps, public support and uncovered costs."},{"id":"timing","title":"Payment and shortfall","retainedDollars":null,"required":"Actual cash dates, conference allocation, reserve access and the party responsible for a deficit."}],"campusGameNet":null,"matchedVenueDifference":null},"sharing":{"checkedOn":"2026-10-09","conferenceExample":{"conference":"ACC","sourceId":"acc-viewership-2025","announcedOn":"2025-03-04","components":["Success initiatives","Annual football and men's basketball viewership"],"cfpPassThroughRate":null,"schoolAllocationFormula":null},"schoolExample":{"school":"Georgia Tech","sourceId":"gt-distributions-2026","announcedOn":"2026-07-07","period":"2025–26","reportedDistributionGrowthRate":0.09,"citedDrivers":["Bowl qualification","Final CFP Top 25 ranking","Football viewership"],"finalizedFilingVerified":false,"incentiveDollars":null,"hostingProfitDollars":null},"reportedHosting":{"school":"Ohio State","opponent":"Tennessee","eventDate":"2024-12-21","sourceId":"osu-host-report-2025","reportedTicketRevenueDollars":15000000,"reportedNetRevenueDollars":5100000,"reportedGrossReceiptsDollars":19700000,"reportedAncillaryReceiptsDollars":1300000,"reportedPremiumFoodBeverageDollars":67000,"reportedOperatingSupportDollars":3000000,"approximateRemittanceDollars":14000000,"remittanceQualifier":"nearly","reportedStaffSecurityDollars":651000,"reconciliation":{"status":"Rounded secondary figures only; settlement still needed","listedReceiptSumDollars":19367000,"grossLessListedReceiptsDollars":333000,"residualMeaning":"Unreconciled difference between rounded reported totals, not an identified receipt or missing cash.","annualScope":"FY2025 includes one campus game and three destination playoff games; annual rows cannot be allocated to one game.","verifiedRetainedTicketsDollars":null,"verifiedAllInCostDollars":null,"verifiedPaymentDates":null},"amountsAreRounded":true,"underlyingSettlementVerified":false,"verifiedGameNetDollars":null,"matchedVenueDifferenceDollars":null,"worksheetPrefill":false},"policyImplication":"Test school-level incentives after sharing and costs, not from conference awards alone. A hosting receipt must not quietly weaken the sporting reward for a bye."},"publicSupport":{"sourceId":"miami-public-support-2024","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","resolution":"R-158-24","adoptedOn":"2024-02-21","status":"Adopted policy checked; disbursements unresolved","payer":"Miami-Dade County","recipients":["Orange Bowl, LLC","South Florida CFPNCG Host Committee, LLC"],"condition":"Legally available funds, budget and appropriation","events":[{"id":"orange-quarterfinal-2026","title":"2026 Orange Bowl quarterfinal","fiscalYear":"2025–26","section":2,"pdfPage":9,"authorizedCashDollars":475000,"authorizedFireRescueDollars":65000,"actualCashPaidDollars":null,"actualServiceCostDollars":null},{"id":"championship-2026","title":"2026 national championship","fiscalYear":"2025–26","section":3,"pdfPage":9,"authorizedCashDollars":4500000,"authorizedFireRescueDollars":1000000,"actualCashPaidDollars":null,"actualServiceCostDollars":null}],"eventScope":"Separate games and associated events; not one bowl's total","fullPublicCostDollars":null,"netCommunityBenefitDollars":null,"operatorNetDollars":null,"schoolNetDollars":null,"worksheetPrefill":false,"legacyProjectsIncluded":false,"requiredRecords":["Executed funding agreements and actual payment dates","Service invoices, overtime and reimbursements","All public payers and event-specific cost allocations","Incremental tax receipts and a defensible no-event comparison"]},"paymentTrail":{"checkedOn":"2026-10-09","status":"Official search guidance checked; transaction results not verified","dashboardAttempt":"The interactive payment dashboard did not load reliably during this check.","requestStatus":"Draft only; not submitted","spendingAuthorizedDollars":0,"requestUrl":"https://www.miamidade.gov/global/publicrecords/search.page","eventScope":"R-158-24 Sections 2(c) and 3: FY2025–26 Orange Bowl quarterfinal and national championship, separately","actualCashPaidDollars":null,"actualServiceCostDollars":null,"publicNetBenefitDollars":null,"steps":[{"title":"Find the payment","text":"Search Orange Bowl, LLC and South Florida CFPNCG Host Committee, LLC separately. Begin with October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026; also inspect earlier advances and later adjustments. Record the dashboard's data-through date and payee spelling."},{"title":"Match it to the event","text":"Retain the disbursement number, date, amount and cancellation status. Match each candidate to its executed agreement and payment voucher. A payee match alone cannot assign money to a particular game."},{"title":"Reconcile the cost","text":"Check voids, replacements, refunds, multiple funding sources and event allocations. Reconcile fire-rescue services separately; a cash search does not establish in-kind costs. Count each underlying service cost once."},{"title":"Keep the conclusion narrow","text":"Publish a payment only with its supporting record and event scope. Missing search results are not zero payments; verified support still does not establish operator profit or net public benefit."}]},"inventory":{"scope":"CFP bracket only; other bowls and the proposed National Tournament require separate ledgers.","current":[{"round":"First round","games":4,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":8},{"round":"Quarterfinals","games":4,"venue":"Bowl","teamsAfter":4},{"round":"Semifinals","games":2,"venue":"Bowl","teamsAfter":2},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"venue":"Neutral","teamsAfter":1}],"proposed":[{"round":"Campus opening round","games":4,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":14,"window":"Dec 8–15","question":"Fund host operations and visiting-team travel; assign ticket receipts, student access and relocation responsibility."},{"round":"CFP Bowl Weekend","games":6,"venue":"Bowl","teamsAfter":8,"window":"Dec 15–22","question":"Test six simultaneous-stage bowl businesses: earlier dates, participant demand, media windows, guarantees and transition costs."},{"round":"Campus quarterfinals","games":4,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":4,"window":"Dec 31–Jan 2","question":"Budget winter-break student access, staffing, weather protection and a funded neutral fallback before awarding a host."},{"round":"Campus semifinals","games":2,"venue":"Campus","teamsAfter":2,"window":"Jan 5–11","question":"Test a second late-campus round, repeated travel and host readiness; do not assume semifinal demand equals an opening round."},{"round":"Championship","games":1,"venue":"Neutral","teamsAfter":1,"window":"Jan 12–18","question":"Price the destination event separately, including venue terms, participant support and a broadcast window that is not secured."}],"flows":[{"id":"rights","title":"Media and central sponsorship","path":"Broadcaster or sponsor → contracted rights holder → contracted recipients","need":"Rights schedule, production obligations, settlement dates, sharing rules and incremental value of this format. The existing rights price is not a per-game price to multiply by 17."},{"id":"event","title":"Tickets and event receipts","path":"Attendees and partners → ticket seller or event operator → contract-defined recipients","need":"Paid attendance, price, refunds, hospitality, parking, concessions, fees and retained shares. A campus location does not establish that the host keeps every receipt."},{"id":"sharing","title":"Distributions and reimbursements","path":"Central organizer → conference or independent → school or expense payee","need":"Actual allocation, conference deductions, travel allowance, who pays first and who bears an overrun. A conference payment is not automatically a school payment."},{"id":"operations","title":"Operations and team travel","path":"Responsible organizer or school → venue, staff and travel suppliers","need":"Security, medical provision, officials, staffing, production, utilities, travel, lodging, insurance and taxes. Match each expense to one payer and any reimbursement."},{"id":"access","title":"Athlete, family and student access","path":"Committed funding → service provider or supported participant","need":"Name the funded service, eligibility, responsible payer and cost: transport, tickets, lodging and required athlete support. Do not treat unpaid obligations as savings."},{"id":"risk","title":"Shortfalls, relocation and transition","path":"Named reserve or guarantor → affected operator, school or supplier","need":"Who carries ticket guarantees, weather relocation, cancellation, standby and bowl-transition costs? Record reserve funding, payment triggers and cash timing."},{"id":"community","title":"Local visitor spending","path":"Visitors → hotels, restaurants and other local businesses","need":"Report separately from playoff and school cash. Test displacement, spending that would occur anyway and public-service costs; spending is not the same as net local benefit."}]},"sources":[{"id":"miami-checkbook","kind":"primary","title":"Miami-Dade payment search and its limits","publisher":"Miami-Dade County","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1570813967002142","supports":"The county describes monthly payment data, payee/date searches and canceled disbursements marked VOID.","limit":"The county labels the data unaudited and unconsolidated. Search results do not replace underlying records or prove an event's net return."},{"id":"miami-request-policy","kind":"primary","title":"Miami-Dade records-request costs","publisher":"Miami-Dade County","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/global/publicrecords/request-policies.page","supports":"The county publishes copying and extended processing charges; requests are not guaranteed to be free.","limit":"A zero-dollar instruction is a requested spending constraint, not an accepted fee waiver or a guarantee of delivery."},{"id":"miami-public-support-2024","kind":"primary","title":"Miami-Dade R-158-24 · hosting support","publisher":"Miami-Dade County","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/matter.asp?file=true&fileAnalysis=false&matter=240233&yearFolder=Y2024","pdfUrl":"https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/MinMatters/Y2024/240233min.pdf","supports":"Adopted county policy separates conditional cash support and in-kind services for the Orange Bowl and championship.","limit":"Authorization is not proof of payment, full public cost, operator profit or net community benefit."},{"id":"osu-fy25-announcement","kind":"primary","title":"Ohio State FY2025 athletics announcement","publisher":"Ohio State University","url":"https://news.osu.edu/ohio-state-athletics-sets-record-with-336m-in-fy25-revenue-after-national-championship-season/","supports":"The January 30, 2026 announcement confirms a home playoff game plus three destination playoff games in FY2025, and describes department-wide ticket, donation and media revenue.","limit":"Department-wide changes and a four-game playoff path cannot isolate the Tennessee game's cash or establish a venue advantage."},{"id":"acc-viewership-2025","kind":"primary","title":"ACC adds viewership-based distributions","publisher":"Atlantic Coast Conference","url":"https://theacc.com/news/2025/3/4/general-acc-clemson-and-florida-state-settle-litigation.aspx","supports":"The March 2025 announcement adds annual football and men's basketball viewership incentives alongside success initiatives.","limit":"Does not publish the allocation formula, individual school receipts or a current CFP pass-through percentage."},{"id":"gt-distributions-2026","kind":"primary","title":"Georgia Tech's 2025–26 distribution update","publisher":"Georgia Tech Athletics","url":"https://ramblinwreck.com/news/2026/07/7/georgia-tech-athletics-sets-revenue-record-in-2025-26","supports":"The school reports a 9% increase in ACC distributions, linking growth largely to bowl qualification, final CFP ranking and football viewership.","limit":"July 2026 institutional announcement with financial reporting still to be finalized; no dollar allocation by incentive, event settlement or hosting profit is provided."},{"id":"osu-host-report-2025","kind":"secondary","title":"Reported Ohio State first-round hosting return","publisher":"Athletic Business · citing The Columbus Dispatch","url":"https://www.athleticbusiness.com/operations/article/15755605/ohio-state-made-51m-by-hosting-2024-cfp-game","supports":"September 2025 coverage reports $15 million in ticket revenue and $5.1 million in net revenue for Ohio State's December 2024 Tennessee game, citing records obtained by the Dispatch.","limit":"Underlying settlement not obtained here. Rounded reported net revenue is not a verified all-in profit, a current fee schedule or a matched neutral-site comparison."},{"id":"bay-area-host-2019","title":"2019 championship host committee: agreed-upon procedures","publisher":"Santa Clara Stadium Authority · The Pun Group","url":"https://santaclara.legistar.com/View.ashx?GUID=B94A609E-12FF-46F7-81DE-212C39291D16&ID=12318443&M=F","supports":"PDF page 3 reports a contractual CFP share of the venue concessionaire's food-and-beverage commission.","limit":"Historical neutral championship, not current campus terms. The March 31, 2023 procedures report expresses no audit opinion; exceptions and management's refused representation limit assurance."},{"id":"osu-fy25","title":"Ohio State FY2025 NCAA financial report","publisher":"Ohio State University","url":"https://news.osu.edu/download/c91b5f24-f009-4455-81eb-4b89b108f1bc/fy25ncaamembershipreportfinal.pdf","supports":"Printed page 8 reports postseason football receipts of $17,452,406 (category 19). Page 15 reports participation expenses of $11,871,668, coaching bonuses of $4,892,664 and hosting settlements of $2,223,252 (41, 41A, 41B).","limit":"Annual reporting categories, not an individual game's settlement or a complete playoff profit calculation."},{"id":"psu-fy25","title":"Penn State FY2025 NCAA financial report","publisher":"Penn State University","url":"https://storage.googleapis.com/gopsusports-prod/2026/02/05/IW8b4ZXbrdkZIDoc9OFKuwsOMrNWoYNqwPs8w3Gl.pdf","supports":"Printed page 8 reports postseason football receipts of $5,349,583 (category 19). Page 15 reports participation expenses of $6,979,412, coaching bonuses of $4,096,838 and hosting settlements of $2,523,455 (41, 41A, 41B).","limit":"Annual reporting categories, not an individual game's settlement or a complete playoff profit calculation."},{"id":"cfp-calendar","title":"Official 2026–27 CFP dates","publisher":"College Football Playoff","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2018/8/31/cfp-games-schedule","supports":"First round December 18–19; quarterfinals December 30 and January 1; semifinals January 14–15; championship January 25.","limit":"The current schedule is a comparison baseline, not approval of the proposed calendar."},{"id":"cfp-rights","title":"ESPN–CFP rights extension","publisher":"ESPN Press Room","url":"https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/espn-and-the-college-football-playoff-extend-exclusive-media-rights-agreement-through-2031-32-season/","supports":"ESPN announced worldwide CFP rights through 2031–32, including a right to sublicense selected games.","limit":"The announcement does not price an 18-team format or disclose its required contract amendments."},{"id":"cfp-audiences","title":"2025–26 game-by-game audiences","publisher":"ESPN Press Room","url":"https://us.espnpressroom.com/press-releases/2026/01/espns-megacast-of-the-college-football-playoff-national-championship-presented-by-att-delivers-30-1-million-viewers-the-most-viewed-college-football-game-in-11-years/","supports":"Reports audiences for all eleven games, including four first-round games and a 30.1-million championship audience.","limit":"Broadcaster-reported historical audiences; not a venue experiment, unique-person total, rights quote or forecast. Individual reach and average audience are different measures."},{"id":"nfl-calendar","title":"NFL's 2026–27 important dates","publisher":"NFL Football Operations","url":"https://operations.nfl.com/calendar-events/nfl-important-dates","supports":"Lists Week 18 on January 9–10, 2027, and Wild Card Weekend on January 16–18.","limit":"A dated conflict reference. Annual schedules and actual kickoff overlaps must be rechecked before adoption."},{"id":"orange-impact-2026","title":"2026 South Florida CFP economic-impact release","publisher":"Orange Bowl Committee","url":"https://www.orangebowl.org/2026-cfp-postseason-delivers-record-418-7m-economic-boost-to-south-florida/","supports":"Operator-published Rockport Analytics estimates distinguish the January 1 quarterfinal from the January 19 championship and separate regional output from media exposure value.","limit":"A published impact estimate, not an event settlement or independent validation by this proposal. The underlying methods, public costs and counterfactual need review; exposure value is not cash revenue."},{"id":"rose-impact-2024","title":"2024 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl economic-impact release","publisher":"Tournament of Roses","url":"https://tournamentofroses.com/2024-economic-impact-report/","supports":"Reports an estimated $245 million regional impact for the combined parade and game, based on an Enigma Research study.","limit":"The release combines two events. It does not isolate the game's profit or quantify what an earlier, separate bowl date would retain."},{"id":"rose-strategy","title":"Tournament of Roses 2023–2027 strategic plan","publisher":"Tournament of Roses","url":"https://tournamentofroses.com/strategic-plan/","supports":"Identifies the game, parade, tradition, sponsors and broadcast partners as connected assets in a changing college-football landscape.","limit":"A strategic plan, not consent to the proposed dates, a contract amendment or a forecast of sponsor receipts."},{"id":"cfp-family-history","title":"2016 CFP family travel assistance announcement","publisher":"College Football Playoff","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/news/2016/10/10/_131504731540209909","supports":"Historical precedent: the October 2016 announcement described $2,500 per athlete for eligible family travel to semifinals and the championship, for up to 125 families per institution.","limit":"Historical terms only, not a verified 2026 allowance, all-round entitlement or adequate budget for the proposed format. Current eligibility and benefit terms need confirmation."},{"id":"cfp-format","title":"Current 12-team CFP format","publisher":"College Football Playoff","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2024/5/29/12-team-format","supports":"The current bracket contains eleven games: four campus first-round games, four bowl quarterfinals, two bowl semifinals and a neutral championship.","limit":"Game counts and venues do not establish revenue, school receipts or the value of the proposed format."},{"id":"cfp-payments","title":"CFP revenue distribution","publisher":"College Football Playoff","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2017/9/20/revenue-distribution","supports":"Published conference distributions and conference discretion over sharing; 2026–27 expense payments are stated while remaining distributions await finalization.","limit":"Does not establish any school's retained share or payments under the proposed 18-team format."},{"id":"cfp-expansion","title":"September 30 expansion update","publisher":"College Football Playoff","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/news/2026/9/30/mc-notebook","supports":"The CFP is evaluating potential 24-team expansion through media-rights discussions with ESPN.","limit":"An evaluation does not establish an approved format, a rights price, or that revenue is the only motivation."},{"id":"ncaa-reporting","title":"Athletics financial reporting definitions","publisher":"NCAA","url":"https://www.ncaa.org/what-we-do/finances/financial-reporting-system/","supports":"A common starting vocabulary for institutional athletics revenue, expense and capital reporting.","limit":"Annual institutional figures do not necessarily isolate a particular postseason game's net return; access to individual records varies."}],"claims":[{"id":"whole-budget","title":"Is the whole ecosystem funded—not just the CFP?","status":"Inventory and budget structure published; pricing unresolved","sourceIds":[],"finding":"The proposed two tournaments contain 32 games. Event costs, shared athlete obligations, administration and adoption costs need one reconciled budget; voluntary bowls still have an undefined inventory.","next":"Price all ledgers, define the accounting perimeter and periods, reconcile transfers and build cash schedules before assessing the funding gap and combined downside coverage."},{"id":"distribution-terms","title":"Can the payments protect costs and sporting rewards?","status":"Framework tested; allocations unagreed","sourceIds":["cfp-payments"],"finding":"Expense support, base sharing and advancement rewards need separate settlements. A positive annual balance does not establish cash at the payment deadline or a school's retained share.","next":"Obtain sharing contracts and full costs; test bye and hosting incentives, the protected tournament floor, payment deadlines, reserve needs and binding shortfall ownership before selecting an allocation."},{"id":"access-funding","title":"Can people use the support when they need it?","status":"Costing framework published; funding unresolved","sourceIds":["cfp-payments","cfp-family-history"],"finding":"Conference expense payments and historical family assistance do not establish current individual entitlements or a funded access budget for this proposal.","next":"Obtain service standards, dated quotes, participant quantities, responsible payers and advance-payment terms; test the full title paths and public aggregate access outcomes."},{"id":"media-value","title":"Would more games earn enough to fund the format?","status":"Window review published; valuation unresolved","sourceIds":["cfp-calendar","cfp-rights","cfp-audiences","nfl-calendar"],"finding":"Additional games need workable windows and negotiated value. Historical ratings do not isolate venue effects or price the proposed package.","next":"Clear kickoffs and fallbacks, obtain comparable audience data and contract terms, and reconcile incremental retained receipts against the full funding gap."},{"id":"school-share","title":"A conference receipt differs from a school's retained return","status":"Source checked","sourceIds":["cfp-payments"],"finding":"Use the school's actual share and its own expenses in a school comparison.","next":"Obtain the relevant conference sharing policy, school settlement and expense record for each case."},{"id":"expansion","title":"Expansion has a commercial question to answer","status":"Source checked","sourceIds":["cfp-expansion"],"finding":"The September update describes media-rights discussions about potential expansion.","next":"Refresh the official decision and define each alternative's rounds, calendar and displaced games before comparing value."},{"id":"campus-return","title":"Would a campus game leave the school better off?","status":"Annual benchmarks checked; game return unresolved","sourceIds":["osu-fy25","psu-fy25"],"finding":"Ohio State and Penn State report substantial postseason and hosting costs. Their annual filings do not establish an individual game's net return.","next":"Reconcile event settlements and conference allocations; compare the same school and game stage with full costs, student services and risk ownership."},{"id":"neutral-value","title":"Would neutral sites earn more?","status":"Historical operator term checked; venue advantage unresolved","sourceIds":["bay-area-host-2019"],"finding":"A historical concession-sharing term shows why gross sales differ from retained receipts. It does not establish current campus terms or a matched venue advantage.","next":"Document current rights, tickets, hospitality, sponsorship, operating costs and actual recipients; account for round and matchup differences."},{"id":"bowl-value","title":"Would the six bowls retain their commercial value?","status":"Commercial review published; event cash unresolved","sourceIds":["orange-impact-2026","rose-impact-2024","rose-strategy"],"finding":"Published regional impact and exposure estimates do not establish operator profit or retained school cash. Earlier dates and a Round-of-12 role require a separate commercial case.","next":"Reconcile six-site settlements, ticket and sponsor terms, local public costs and funded transition obligations; test an earlier event against the same baseline."},{"id":"funding","title":"Can the format fund its commitments in a bad year?","status":"Downside framework published; coverage unresolved","sourceIds":[],"finding":"Combined risks and dated cash schedules distinguish a permanent funding gap from temporary liquidity needs. Illustrative reserves do not establish actual coverage.","next":"Obtain full costs, supported downside ranges, accessible reserve balances and binding backstops; independently test every entity and payment deadline before launch."}],"batches":["Foundation: introduction, source record and school cash worksheet.","Game inventory and money flows: compare formats and identify every recipient and payer.","School cases: document retained receipts, operating costs and travel at contrasting campuses.","Media and calendar: examine windows, audiences, displaced games and revenue requirements.","Bowls: evaluate commercial changes, local effects and funded transition options.","Access: price student, athlete, family and visiting-fan commitments along each route.","Distributions: test reimbursements, rewards, byes, hosting and incentives.","Complete budget: cost the National Tournament, athlete support, administration and transition.","Downside tests: examine weak revenue, rising costs, relocation, cash timing and reserves.","Proposal integration: connect findings to chapters, calendar, evidence and downloads.","Outside review: record corrections and unresolved objections from relevant specialists and participants.","Decisions and upkeep: review policy options, preserve versions and refresh evidence."],"evidenceUpkeep":{"automaticMonitoring":false,"tasks":[{"sourceId":"miami-checkbook","title":"Miami-Dade payment search and its limits","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1570813967002142","status":"Search guidance checked; transaction results unverified","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"miami-checkbook","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Search guidance checked; transaction results unverified","finding":"The county describes monthly updates, payee and date searches, disbursement identifiers and VOID markers.","limit":"The interactive dashboard did not load reliably. No payment was verified; guidance labels the data unaudited and unconsolidated and not a substitute for underlying records.","reopenWhen":"The dashboard loads or event-linked vouchers and reconciliation records become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"miami-request-policy","title":"Miami-Dade records-request costs","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/global/publicrecords/request-policies.page","status":"Fee policy checked; request draft not submitted","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"miami-request-policy","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Fee policy checked; request draft not submitted","finding":"Copying and extended processing can incur charges. The published draft authorizes zero fees and requests a stop before chargeable work.","limit":"No fee waiver, records delivery, custodian acceptance or outreach is claimed.","reopenWhen":"The county changes its policy or an authorized request receives a response.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"miami-public-support-2024","title":"Miami-Dade R-158-24 · hosting support","url":"https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/matter.asp?file=true&fileAnalysis=false&matter=240233&yearFolder=Y2024","status":"Adopted support policy checked; actual payments unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"miami-public-support-2024","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Adopted support policy checked; actual payments unresolved","finding":"R-158-24 separates conditional cash and fire-rescue support for the 2026 quarterfinal and championship.","limit":"No disbursements, full public cost, operator profit or net community benefit are verified.","reopenWhen":"Funding agreements, payment records and service costs become available.","sourceDate":"2024-02-21","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"osu-fy25-announcement","title":"Ohio State FY2025 athletics announcement","url":"https://news.osu.edu/ohio-state-athletics-sets-record-with-336m-in-fy25-revenue-after-national-championship-season/","status":"University annual context checked; event settlement unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"osu-fy25-announcement","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"University annual context checked; event settlement unresolved","finding":"The January 2026 university announcement confirms one home playoff game and three destination playoff games within FY2025.","limit":"Department-wide revenue growth cannot be attributed to one game. The rounded secondary hosting figures still require primary settlement verification.","reopenWhen":"Event settlements, allocated costs or dated remittance records become available.","sourceDate":"2026-01-30","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"acc-viewership-2025","title":"ACC adds viewership-based distributions","url":"https://theacc.com/news/2025/3/4/general-acc-clemson-and-florida-state-settle-litigation.aspx","status":"Distribution components checked; allocation formula unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"acc-viewership-2025","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Distribution components checked; allocation formula unresolved","finding":"The ACC's March 2025 announcement adds annual football and men's basketball viewership distributions alongside success initiatives.","limit":"No current CFP pass-through rate, school allocation formula or dollar settlement is supplied.","reopenWhen":"Executed allocation rules, amended terms or school settlements become available.","sourceDate":"2025-03-04","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"gt-distributions-2026","title":"Georgia Tech's 2025–26 distribution update","url":"https://ramblinwreck.com/news/2026/07/7/georgia-tech-athletics-sets-revenue-record-in-2025-26","status":"Institutional announcement checked; finalized filing unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"gt-distributions-2026","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Institutional announcement checked; finalized filing unresolved","finding":"Georgia Tech reports 9% ACC distribution growth for 2025–26, citing bowl qualification, final CFP ranking and football viewership.","limit":"The July announcement says financial reporting remains to be finalized. No incentive dollar split or event profit is established.","reopenWhen":"The finalized financial filing or itemized ACC allocation becomes available.","sourceDate":"2026-07-07","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"osu-host-report-2025","title":"Reported Ohio State first-round hosting return","url":"https://www.athleticbusiness.com/operations/article/15755605/ohio-state-made-51m-by-hosting-2024-cfp-game","status":"Secondary report checked; underlying settlement not verified","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"osu-host-report-2025","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Secondary report checked; underlying settlement not verified","finding":"Athletic Business cites Dispatch records reporting of $15 million ticket revenue and $5.1 million net revenue for Ohio State's 2024 Tennessee home playoff game.","limit":"Rounded reported amounts are not a reconciled all-in profit, current hosting terms or a matched venue verdict. No primary event settlement was obtained here.","reopenWhen":"The underlying event settlement and cost perimeter become available.","sourceDate":"2025-09-17","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"bay-area-host-2019","title":"2019 championship host committee: agreed-upon procedures","url":"https://santaclara.legistar.com/View.ashx?GUID=B94A609E-12FF-46F7-81DE-212C39291D16&ID=12318443&M=F","status":"Historical commission term checked; current terms unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"bay-area-host-2019","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Historical commission term checked; current terms unresolved","finding":"PDF page 3 identifies a 20% CFP share of concession commission, not gross sales. Offsite applicability and the related payment were unresolved.","limit":"2019 neutral championship only. This procedures report gives no audit opinion and records exceptions and a refused management representation; no school profit is established.","reopenWhen":"Current hosting agreements or a resolved event settlement become available.","sourceDate":"2023-03-31","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["neutral-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"osu-fy25","title":"Ohio State FY2025 NCAA financial report","url":"https://news.osu.edu/download/c91b5f24-f009-4455-81eb-4b89b108f1bc/fy25ncaamembershipreportfinal.pdf","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"osu-fy25","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","finding":"Pages 8 and 15 confirm the existing receipts and expense rows. Page 41 separately allocates $10,665,018 of category 13A postseason distributions to football; this was outside the earlier subtotal.","limit":"Annual accounting categories do not isolate a matched campus or destination game, all related receipts or cash dates. The expanded subtotal is not profit.","reopenWhen":"An event settlement, revised filing or applicable school sharing terms become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["campus-return"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"psu-fy25","title":"Penn State FY2025 NCAA financial report","url":"https://storage.googleapis.com/gopsusports-prod/2026/02/05/IW8b4ZXbrdkZIDoc9OFKuwsOMrNWoYNqwPs8w3Gl.pdf","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"psu-fy25","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Annual football rows checked; event net unresolved","finding":"Pages 8 and 15 confirm the existing receipts and expense rows. Page 38 allocates $20,530,530 of category 13A to football, not the $20,818,587 all-sports total.","limit":"Annual totals cannot rank venue returns or school efficiency. Use the football allocation once, not the entire all-sports distribution.","reopenWhen":"An event settlement, revised filing or applicable school sharing terms become available.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["campus-return"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-calendar","title":"Official 2026–27 CFP dates","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2018/8/31/cfp-games-schedule","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["media-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-rights","title":"ESPN–CFP rights extension","url":"https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/espn-and-the-college-football-playoff-extend-exclusive-media-rights-agreement-through-2031-32-season/","status":"Announced rights scope confirmed; alternative pricing unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"cfp-rights","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Announced rights scope confirmed; alternative pricing unresolved","finding":"ESPN's March 2024 announcement covers all CFP rounds through 2031–32 and permits selected sublicensing. It does not state a venue-specific fee for the proposed format.","limit":"This checks the announcement, not executed contract terms, later amendments or the price of an 18-team proposal. Its historical format description is not today's rulebook.","reopenWhen":"New rights terms, authorized offers or amendments affecting the comparison become available.","sourceDate":"2024-03-19","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":["venue-cash"],"linkedClaimIds":["media-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-audiences","title":"2025–26 game-by-game audiences","url":"https://us.espnpressroom.com/press-releases/2026/01/espns-megacast-of-the-college-football-playoff-national-championship-presented-by-att-delivers-30-1-million-viewers-the-most-viewed-college-football-game-in-11-years/","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["media-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"nfl-calendar","title":"NFL's 2026–27 important dates","url":"https://operations.nfl.com/calendar-events/nfl-important-dates","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["media-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"orange-impact-2026","title":"2026 South Florida CFP economic-impact release","url":"https://www.orangebowl.org/2026-cfp-postseason-delivers-record-418-7m-economic-boost-to-south-florida/","status":"Published figures confirmed; model not independently validated","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"orange-impact-2026","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Published figures confirmed; model not independently validated","finding":"The release separates the January 2026 quarterfinal's $208.6 million regional output from its $112.1 million media-exposure estimate. It is not a school or operator settlement.","limit":"No matched campus counterfactual, school net return or spendable rights fee is established. The underlying model still needs review.","reopenWhen":"A corrected release, full methodology or event settlement becomes available.","sourceDate":"2026-09-17","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":["venue-cash","bowl-transition"],"linkedClaimIds":["bowl-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"rose-impact-2024","title":"2024 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl economic-impact release","url":"https://tournamentofroses.com/2024-economic-impact-report/","status":"Combined scope confirmed; game-only return unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"rose-impact-2024","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Combined scope confirmed; game-only return unresolved","finding":"The July 2024 release reports $245 million of regional impact for the parade and game together, not the game's profit alone.","limit":"The figure does not price an earlier bowl round or isolate money retained by a school.","reopenWhen":"A game-only breakdown, full methodological review or changed event plan becomes available.","sourceDate":"2024-07-30","supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":["venue-cash","bowl-transition"],"linkedClaimIds":["bowl-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"rose-strategy","title":"Tournament of Roses 2023–2027 strategic plan","url":"https://tournamentofroses.com/strategic-plan/","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["bowl-value"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-family-history","title":"2016 CFP family travel assistance announcement","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/news/2016/10/10/_131504731540209909","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["access-funding"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-format","title":"Current 12-team CFP format","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2024/5/29/12-team-format","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-payments","title":"CFP revenue distribution","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2017/9/20/revenue-distribution","status":"Published payment scope confirmed; school share unresolved","lastCheckedOn":"2026-10-09","nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":{"sourceId":"cfp-payments","checkedOn":"2026-10-09","checker":"Website editorial source check","status":"Published payment scope confirmed; school share unresolved","finding":"For 2026–27 the CFP page specifies $3.18 million per participating conference team per round for expenses; remaining distributions are to be finalized after the championship and paid in spring 2027.","limit":"A conference expense payment is not a guaranteed school profit or a payment schedule for the proposed format. Conference sharing and actual costs still matter.","reopenWhen":"The remaining 2026–27 distributions or applicable school sharing terms are published.","sourceDate":null,"supersedes":null},"linkedFeedbackIds":["venue-cash"],"linkedClaimIds":["distribution-terms","access-funding","school-share"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"cfp-expansion","title":"September 30 expansion update","url":"https://collegefootballplayoff.com/news/2026/9/30/mc-notebook","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":["expansion"],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null},{"sourceId":"ncaa-reporting","title":"Athletics financial reporting definitions","url":"https://www.ncaa.org/what-we-do/finances/financial-reporting-system/","status":"Check not recorded in upkeep ledger","lastCheckedOn":null,"nextCheckOn":null,"responsibleOwner":null,"latestCheck":null,"linkedFeedbackIds":[],"linkedClaimIds":[],"requiredCheck":"Confirm the original document, date, scope and corrections; record what changed and reopen affected claims before a financial decision.","supersedes":null}]}}