There was a lot of kerfuffle and complaint about the College Football Playoff last season because the semifinals took place on New Year’s Eve. This was considered an issue because people go out on New Year’s Eve, but also because last year New Year’s Eve fell on a weekday, and not everybody had it off work. Despite CFP executive director Bill Hancock’s insistence it wouldn’t be an issue, the ratings took a dip.
In response, the College Football Playoff semifinals schedule has been changed. Effective in 2018, the games will no longer be played on New Year’s Eve when it falls on a weekday.
Hancock says that they have changed four of the seven future semifinal dates so that they will not fall on New Year’s Eve. Those games have been moved to the preceding Saturday. There are still three semifinals scheduled for New Year’s Eve, but two of them are on Saturday, when people don’t have to work generally, and one is on a Friday that has been designated a federal holiday.
In an official release, Hancock said, “We tried to do something special with New Year’s Eve, even when it fell on a weekday. But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed.” So if you want to party on New Year’s Eve, some years you are going to have to hope you are somewhere where football is on TV. However, at least you won’t have to call in sick from work.
(Via Fanbuzz)