The policy in brief
What this part would establish
- Rivalry games conclude the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend.
- Conference championships, CFP Round 1, and CFP Bowl Weekend follow on consecutive weekends.
- Christmas week contains no CFP games.
- Quarterfinals and semifinals are played on qualifying campuses after the holiday pause.
- The season ends with a neutral-site championship in protected Saturday primetime, targeted for NFL Wild Card Weekend through a negotiated annual calendar.
- CFP and NFL postseason windows, draft deadlines, advisory dates, and combine obligations are coordinated and published together before each season.
How it works
A continuous championship rhythm
The proposed flow removes long dead periods: rivalry weekend, conference championships, campus Round 1, the six-game bowl round, Christmas recovery, campus quarterfinals, campus semifinals, and the neutral championship.
Why the site changes with the calendar
Late December becomes the single destination round because many campuses are quiet and historic bowls can create concentrated value. Early January returns to campus as students and communities return. The championship stays neutral so neither finalist receives home-field advantage.
Workload and recovery
The longest theoretical path is 18 games: 12 regular-season games, a conference championship, and five CFP games. Only a conference finalist starting in Round 1 can reach it. A double-bye conference finalist would play 15 total games, and the Christmas pause creates the longest recovery period.
One calendar beyond the games
The national roster freeze and recruiting dead period are designed around the same championship window. The calendar succeeds only if transfer entry, formal signing, and formal FBS-to-FBS coaching movement do not compete with preparation.
A protected Saturday-night championship
The proposed College Football–NFL Coordination Compact targets Saturday primetime during NFL Wild Card Weekend for the college national championship. The NFL may retain earlier Saturday inventory and its Sunday and Monday windows. This is a negotiated target—not an existing commitment—and requires CFP, NFL, NFLPA, media, venue, and athlete-welfare approval.
Safeguards
What keeps the rule honest
- Minimum recovery periods govern exact annual dates, especially for conference champions.
- Medical, practice-load, academic, and travel standards accompany the competition calendar.
- A conference adding its own postseason round must reduce regular-season exposure.
- An annual public conflict audit reports unavoidable NFL overlap, rest effects, travel burdens, and any deviation from the protected-window agreement.
Still to resolve
Questions testing must answer
- What is the minimum safe recovery interval for every possible tournament path?
- Which campuses can reliably satisfy January field, travel, and broadcast standards?
- How should the calendar adjust in years when holidays fall on difficult broadcast days?
- Which media, venue, labor, and rights agreements are required to protect Saturday primetime on NFL Wild Card Weekend?
Discuss this rule
The proposal ends.
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