INAUGURAL 12-TEAM CFP SCHEDULE SET TO AVOID NFL
The first-round games of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will be played on Friday night and Saturday of the third week of December 2024, and the semifinals will be played in early January on weeknights to avoid conflicting with the NFL playoffs.
Bill Hancock, CFP executive director, confirmed on Thursday a schedule that had already become apparent when the decision to expand was finalized in December. The 10 conference commissioners who make up the College Football Playoff management committee held their spring meetings in Dallas this week.
The upcoming season will be the last in which the College Football Playoff uses a four-team format.
The College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams starting with the 2024 season. The first-round games will match teams seeded 5-12 and be played on campus sites, with the best seeds hosting.
Hancock said the plan is for one first-round game to be played Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, and three on Saturday, Dec. 21, which would put them up against regular-season NFL games.
The quarterfinals will be played on and around Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at bowl sites. Hancock said the plan is for three quarterfinal games to be played on New Year’s Day and the other either the day before or after.
The semifinals, currently set to be played in the Orange and Cotton Bowls, will be played at least a week later, but will steer clear of Saturday and Sunday when the NFL is playing its wild card weekend.
Hancock said a semifinal game could be played Friday night.
The first championship game with the 12-team format is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta.
More colleges
Notre Dame transfer quarterback Tyler Buchner, who played locally at Bishop’s, committed to Alabama, where he will be reunited with former Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Max Abmas, the nation’s active leading scorer in men’s basketball, is heading to Texas. The former Oral Roberts guard announced on Twitter that he’s joining the Longhorns for his final collegiate season, giving Longhorns coach Rodney Terry a high-volume scorer.
Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith is heading to reigning women’s basketball national champion LSU. The sought-after guard posted an image of herself wearing an LSU uniform in front of an image of the Tiger mascot on social media. The 5-foot-7 guard averaged a team-high 19.7 points last year for the Cardinals.
Locally
The visiting San Diego Loyal SC dropped a 5-4 decision in extra time on Wednesday night to the MLS Seattle Sounders in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Joe Corona scored twice for the Loyal, who overcame a deficit four times before Seattle’s Fredy Montero scored his second goal of the night from the penalty spot three minutes into stoppage time of the second extra time period to seal the win.
Soccer
Tottenham regained some pride after one of the worst losses in its history by coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United in a wild Premier League game. Son Heungmin completed Tottenham’s fightback in the 79th minute by tucking home a cross from Harry Kane, who was the inspiration behind his team’s second-half rally.
Also
After another impressive victory at the Madrid Open,
Mirra Andreeva patiently took photos with some fans who looked young enough to be her classmates in high school. Moments earlier, the 15-year-old Russian had been raising her arms by the net to celebrate her win over a top-20 opponent. Andreeva, a day after defeating 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez for her first tour-level win, beat 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the third round.
Wild On Ice was euthanized after dropping out of the Kentucky Derby with a left hind leg injury following a morning workout at Churchill Downs, his owner said. The withdrawal allows Santa Anita Derby third-place runner
Skinner into the 20-horse field for the 149th Derby on May 6. Skinner will be ridden by leading Southern California circuit jockey Juan Hernandez.