College Football Playoff semifinals moving off New Year's Eve most years beginning in 2018

Alabama Football G14 Cotton Bowl vs Michigan State

Alabama head coach Nick Saban dances to Alabama's defensive theme song to the delight of his players after Alabama's Cotton Bowl college football semifinal playoff football win over Michigan State, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

The College Football Playoff semifinal games will no longer be played on New Year's Eve when that day falls during the work week, it was announced Thursday.

Beginning in 2018, the semifinals will be played most years on either Jan. 1 or the previous Saturday. The semifinals will only be played on Dec. 31 when it falls on a Friday or Saturday (such as in 2017).

The move was made after poor television ratings for this past season's semifinals, which took place on New Year's Eve, which was a Thursday and thus a work day for many viewers. Ratings plummeted 23 percent from the previous year, when the semifinals took place on New Year's Day, a federal holiday.

"We had healthy discussions with a lot of people who love college football and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans." College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill 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."

Here are the updated dates for the CFP semifinals through 2026:

2016-17 -- Saturday, December 31 (Fiesta and Peach Bowls)

2017-18 -- Monday, January 1 (Rose and Sugar)

2018-19 -- Saturday, December 29 (Cotton and Orange)

2019-20 -- Saturday, December 28 (Fiesta and Peach)

2020-21 -- Friday, January 1 (Rose and Sugar)

2021-22 -- Friday, December 31 (Orange and bowl TBD)

2022-23 -- Saturday, December 31 (Bowls TBD)

2023-24 -- Monday, January 1 (Rose and Sugar)

2024-25 -- Saturday, December 28 (Orange and bowl TBD)

2025-26 -- Saturday, December 27 (Bowls TBD)

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