Sugar Bowl officials are close to finalizing a six-year extension with the College Football Playoff to play a quarterfinal or semifinal CFP game annually in New Orleans through 2032, Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said Tuesday.
“Of course, nothing's done until it's done and the ink's dry, but we feel really optimistic,” Hundley said at the Greater New Orlean Quarterback Club on Tuesday. “We've been back and forth quite a bit (in negotiations) and are landed in a pretty good spot that will give us, in that six-year term, three (CFP) quarterfinal games and three semifinal games. It’s exciting news for us.”
The Sugar Bowl, along with college football’s other “big six” bowls — the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach and Rose — has been a regular host for the CFP since the tournament began with a four-team playoff in 2014.
New Orleans will play host to the CFP championship game in 2028, officials announced last month. It will mark the second time the city has hosted the event since 2018.
“(New Orleans) is always going to be a part of the CFP,” CFP CEO Rich Clark said at the announcement of the 2028 championship game last month. “I see New Orleans being a long-term partner with us.”
The Sugar Bowl hosted the CFP quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame last year. It will play host to another quarterfinal game Jan. 1 this season.
The future format of the CFP remains undecided. The CFP's management committee has conducted multiple meetings to discuss future plans, which include a proposed expansion of the playoff to 16 teams, but nothing has been finalized. CFP officials have a contractual obligation to let ESPN know by Dec. 1 whether they want to expand the field beyond 12 teams.
If the playoff stays at 12 teams, quarterfinal games would be played on or around Jan. 1, Hundley said, with semifinal games to follow on or around Jan. 10-14.
“We’ve been competing against cities like Las Vegas and Nashville and Orlando and Houston that have deeper pocketbooks than us for our very spot in the playoff,” Hundley said. “For us, it was important to stay at the top and to do whatever it took to make sure that we got that job done.
"We've still got work to do, but enough to where we felt good going forward, making some financial commitments that needed to be made.”