Arizona will host the College Football Playoff championship in 2016 and Tampa, Fla., will be the site of the 2017 title game.
The conference commissioners who oversee the playoffs announced Monday their choices for the sites of the second and third championship games in the new postseason system that goes into effect next season.
“This was not an easy decision,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the playoff. “It was a very competitive process. The decision was difficult because we received eight excellent proposals.”
The first championship game will played Jan. 12, 2015, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The second title game is scheduled to be played Jan. 11, 2016, in Glendale at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Fiesta Bowl and the NFL’s Cardinals. The Fiesta Bowl is also part of the six-bowl semifinal rotation for the playoff, but it won’t host a semifinal until the 2016 season.
The other bidders for the 2016 game were Jacksonville, Fla., New Orleans and Tampa.
