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The 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games are a series of college football bowl games in the United States, primarily played to complete the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive bowl games in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) began on December 14, 2024, and will conclude with the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 20, 2025. Several all-star games will then be contested.

Schedule

The schedule for the 2024–25 bowl games was announced on June 6, 2024.

Division I FBS bowl games

College Football Playoff bowl games

The College Football Playoff system is used to determine a national championship of Division I FBS college football. This is the 11th year of the College Football Playoff era. For the 2024–25 season, the playoffs were expanded from four teams to 12 teams.

A committee of experts ranked the top 25 FBS teams after each of the last six weeks of the regular season. Upon release of the final rankings, the top five ranked conference champions were selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions received a first-round bye.

The first round of games was played at campus sites on December 20 and 21, 2024. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played at the New Year's Six bowl games. The quarterfinal games were played from December 31, 2024 through January 2, 2025, at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The semifinal games will be played on January 9 and 10, 2025, at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl. The winners will advance to the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

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Non-CFP bowl games

Several changes, as compared to the 2023–24 bowl season, were announced:

• The Holiday Bowl changed venues, from Petco Park to Snapdragon Stadium.
• The Cure Bowl also changed venues, from FBC Mortgage Stadium to Camping World Stadium.
• On October 8, 2024, strategic investment company GameAbove, through its GameAbove Sports brand, was announced as the new title sponsor for the Quick Lane Bowl, renaming it the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
• On October 15, 2024, military contractor Integrated Solutions for Systems (IS4S) was announced as the new title sponsor of the Camellia Bowl, with the game being renamed as the Salute to Veterans Bowl.
• On October 17, 2024, the Guaranteed Rate Bowl was renamed as the Rate Bowl, due to a rebranding by its title sponsor, as Guaranteed Rate became simply Rate.

† Pac-12 legacy selection: Team played in the Pac-12 Conference in 2023 and their bowl conference tie-in is based on that.

Division I FCS bowl game

The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) has one bowl game, the Celebration Bowl. Played between HBCUs, it serves as a de facto Black college football national championship. The FCS also has a postseason bracket tournament that culminates in the 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

Division II bowl games

Two bowl games were held which featured teams that did not qualify for the Division II postseason tournament. This is down from four bowl games in the previous season, as the Live United Texarkana Bowl went defunct and the Florida Beach Bowl was not held for 2024 due to funding issues. Additionally, a regular season conference game between North Greenville and Shorter was postponed due to Hurricane Helene; it was rescheduled for the first week of the Division II postseason, restructured as a quasi-bowl game and dubbed the "Helene Relief Bowl".

Division III bowl games

Division III held 13 bowl games in 2024, featuring teams that did not qualify for the Division III postseason tournament; this is the same number of games contested in 2023 season, but saw the addition of the Fusion Bowl and two bowls organized by NIL company Opendorse, as well as the subtraction of the ECAC Lynah Bowl and the New England Bowl series.

All-star games

Team selections

CFP top 25 standings and bowl games

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final team rankings for the season on December 8, 2024.

For the 2024–25 season, the playoffs were expanded from four teams to twelve teams. The top five ranked conference champions were selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions received a first-round bye.

Bowl eligibility

The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA, and bowl eligibility criteria.

Bowl-eligible teams

• ACC (13): Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
• American (8): Army, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, UTSA
• Big Ten (12): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, USC, Washington
• Big 12 (9): Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia
• CUSA (4): Jacksonville State, Liberty, Sam Houston, Western Kentucky
• MAC (7): Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
• Mountain West (5): Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV
• Pac-12 (1): Washington State
• SEC (13): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
• Sun Belt (8): Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Texas State
• Independent (2): Notre Dame, UConn

Number of postseason berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82
Note: Although the Sun Belt had eight bowl-eligible teams, Marshall (10–3) withdrew from the Independence Bowl and was subsequently replaced by Louisiana Tech (5–7) of Conference USA. Thus, the resulting bowl count for the Sun Belt is seven, and for Conference USA is five.

Bowl-ineligible teams

• ACC (4): Florida State, Stanford, Virginia, Wake Forest
• American (6): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, Temple, Tulsa, UAB
• Big Ten (6): Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin
• Big 12 (7): Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UCF, Utah
• CUSA (6): FIU, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, UTEP
• MAC (5): Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State
• Mountain West (7): Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming
• Pac-12 (1): Oregon State
• SEC (3): Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State
• Sun Belt (6): Appalachian State, Georgia State, Louisiana–Monroe, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Troy
• Independent (1): UMass

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 52

Conference summaries

Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 3).

Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.

† The Pac-12, which played the season with two teams, named "top performers"—in addition to the three players noted in the table, also recognized were offensive lineman Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan of Oregon State and defensive lineman Ansel Din-Mbuh of Washington State.

Conference performance in bowl games

CFP bowl games are denoted in bold type. First-round CFP playoff games are included, and denoted as CFP1.

Note: The Alamo Bowl was contested by two Big 12 teams (one was selected as a former Pac-12 member), while the Rose Bowl was contested by two Big Ten teams.

To be determined—two berths in the National Championship.

Notes

1. 11 College Football Playoff (CFP) games, 35 non-CFP FBS bowl games, and 1 FCS bowl game. This count includes the four CFP first-round playoff games.
2. Dates reflect Division I team-competitive bowl games, and exclude all-star games and bowl games in lower divisions.
3. The championship game was originally scheduled to be played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, but was moved due to a scheduling conflict with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
4. Allegiant Stadium is located outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise, Nevada. "Las Vegas" is the official mailing address for all unincorporated areas in the vicinity of the city, including Paradise.
5. The stadium is physically located in University Park, Texas, a separate city contained within the Dallas city limits. All locations in University Park have a Dallas mailing address.
6. The stadium has an Orlando mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Orange County.
7. Marshall withdrew from the Independence Bowl due to a large number of players entering the NCAA transfer portal.
8. There are 35 traditional season-ending bowl games providing berths for 70 teams. The CFP places 12 teams into a bracket tournament (8 teams in first-round games, and 4 teams directly into quarterfinal games). Thus, a total of 82 teams (70 + 12) fulfill these postseason competitions.
9. Kennesaw State is bowl ineligible due to their transition from FCS to FBS; having posted a losing record, the Owls would be bowl ineligible regardless.
10. Louisiana Tech was named as a participant in the Independence Bowl following the withdrawal of Marshall.
11. Hawaii has two wins against FCS teams, Delaware State and Northern Iowa. Only one win against an FCS school may be counted towards bowl eligibility. However, with a losing record, the Rainbow Warriors would be bowl ineligible regardless.
12. UMass has two wins against FCS teams, Central Connecticut and Wagner. Only one win against an FCS school may be counted towards bowl eligibility. However, with a losing record, the Minutemen would be bowl ineligible regardless.

References

1. "College Football Expand 12 Teams Starting With The 2024 Season". NCAA. December 1, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
2. Reineking, Jim (June 6, 2024). "College Football 2024 Season Bowl Game and Playoff Schedule". USA Today. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
3. ^ Sallee, Barrett (January 9, 2024). "College Football Playoff Bracket, Predictions: Early Picks as Format Expands to 12 Teams in 2024 Season". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
4. ^ "5-7 Format Confirmed for 12-Team Playoff". College Football Playoff. February 20, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
5. "2024-25 College Football Playoff Schedule, Dates, TV Channel, Sites". NCAA. August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
6. ^ Lewis, Jon (December 23, 2024). "CFP first round does well despite blowouts, NFL competition". sportsmediawatch.com. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
7. ^ @ESPNPR (January 3, 2025). "The #CFBPlayoff Quarterfinals scored strong viewership on ESPN platforms" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Twitter.
8. "2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl Set for December 27th". holidaybowl.com (Press release). August 27, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
9. "2024 StaffDNA Cure Bowl Scheduled for December 20 on ESPN". curebowl.com. June 6, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
10. "GameAbove Sports Announced as New Title Sponsor for College Football Bowl Game at Ford Field". Detroit Lions. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
11. Stephenson, Creg (October 15, 2024). "Montgomery's bowl game gets new name, title sponsor". al. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
12. "Bowl Season's Only Big Ten-Big 12 Conference Matchup Renamed to Rate Bowl as Part of Title Partner Rebrand". fiestabowl.org (Press release). October 17, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
13. Andres, Patrick (July 18, 2024). "2024-25 College Football Bowl Schedule: Full List of Games and Locations". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
14. ^ "College Football TV Ratings". sportsmediawatch.com. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
15. "PAC-12 Legacy Schools to Play in Pac-12 Bowl Games". Sun Bowl. July 16, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
16. Gaither, Steven (November 4, 2024). "HBCU football bowl game won't happen this year". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
17. Harris, Kennedi (November 22, 2024). "NGU hosts Hurricane Relief Bowl, collecting donations for Western North Carolina". WHNS.
18. https://www.fcsbowl.com/
19. "Tickets". hulabowl.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
20. "Agenda – Trillion Tropical Bowl". tropicalbowl.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
21. "Events". shrinebowl.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
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24. Backus, Will (August 15, 2024). "College Football Playoff Rankings Schedule: Complete List of Dates, Times Announced for 2024 Season". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
25. Kadlick, Mike (December 8, 2024). "College Football Playoff Final Bracket, Matchups for First 12-Team Format". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
26. "NCAA College Football FBS Standings". NCAA.com.
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28. Salerno, Cameron (December 14, 2024). "Marshall opts out of Independence Bowl vs. Army amid transfer portal exodus, per reports". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
29. ^ "LA Tech to Play in Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl". latechsports.com. Louisiana Tech University Athletics. December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
30. ^ "Miami's Ward and BC's Ezeiruaku Garner ACC Player of the Year Honors". December 4, 2024.
31. "SMU's Rhett Lashlee Named 2024 ACC Coach of the Year". December 5, 2024.
32. ^ "American Announces 2024 Football Award Winners".
33. ^ "2024 All-Big 12 Football Teams and Awards Announced". December 5, 2024.
34. ^ "FB: CUSA Announces 2024 Players of the Year". December 11, 2024.
35. "FB: Jax State's Rich Rodriguez Named CUSA Coach of the Year". December 11, 2024.
36. ^ "MAC Announces 2024 Postseason Football Awards & All-Conference Teams". December 5, 2024.
37. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2024 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". December 3, 2024.
38. ^ "2024 SEC Football Awards announced".
39. ^ "Sun Belt Announces 2024 Football Postseason Awards & All-Conference Teams". December 5, 2024.
40. "2024 Pac-12 Football Top Performers Announced". pac-12.com. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.

• 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games