College Football Bowl Games Explained: What You Need to Know

Every regular season must end, and for many college football teams, that means postseason bowl games. One of college athletics’ longest traditions, the pool of bowl games has only gotten larger and more complex with the introduction of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014. Before deciding on bowl game tickets or College Football Playoff tickets, find a breakdown below with all of the NCAA bowl games explained, once and for all.

What Are College Football Bowl Games?

College football bowl games traditionally close a winning team’s season. Aptly nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl inspired the term “bowl game” after the Tournament East–West game, played between the Big Ten and Pac-12 conference champions since 1902, moved to the new Pasadena, California stadium in 1923. However, the meaning of a bowl game quickly shifted from the shape of the attendance-shattering stadium to the high stakes and marquee matchups that form college football’s postseason play.

In the previous era when the media voted on the National Championship, bowl game wins were crucial to a team’s final ranking. Nowadays, however, a bowl game appearance comes with perks like nationwide notoriety, financial rewards to the school and conference and additional practice time. Since 2024, select bowl games also determine which teams advance to the national championship game.

How Do Bowl Games Work?

In college football’s current format, over 40 bowl games are played primarily within the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), though teams can be invited from the lower-tier Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II and Division III. Running from mid-December to early January, the bowl season usually consists of Group of Five matchups in the first week, the Power Four conferences in the second and the concluding New Year’s Six games: the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The 2025 bowl season kicks off with the Celebration Bowl on December 13.

Since the introduction of the CFP in 2014, bowl games have been followed by the College Football Playoff National Championship. Although the two were largely separate at the start, new CFP rules for the 2024 season required a bowl game victory on the path to the National Championship. In its updated format, the New Year’s Six bowl games host the tournament’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on a rotating basis, with three bowls maintaining the historic January 1 date and three taking place during the following week.

For the 2025 season, winners of the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will face each other in the national championship game on January 19, 2026. To learn more about the recent changes in the NCAAF postseason format, check out our guide to the College Football Playoff explained.

Key Factors Influencing Bowl Game Decisions

Historically, bowl games and their participants are determined by eligibility, rankings, conference affiliation, region, academic performance or long-standing rivalries. With exceptions, a team qualifies for a bowl game appearance by earning a winning regular season record of seven wins. Eligibility rules became less strict as more bowl games were created, first to include teams with an even 6-6 record, then to high-performing teams with less wins.

The CFP Selection Committee also plays a key role in how bowl games are determined. Throughout the season, a group of former collegiate athletics members gather to vote on the top 25 teams. The committee’s final ranking of the regular season comes in the form of the 12-team CFP bracket, which lists the teams eligible to play in the quarterfinal and semifinal bowl games. The 2025 CFP bracket will be announced on December 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Outside of the CFP, there is more flexibility in selecting bowl game teams based on conference, location or other ranking systems like the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. Long-running bowl games have also built historic affiliations with conferences, such as the Sugar Bowl with the SEC or the Orange Bowl with the former Big Eight. However, a team’s best bet to make a bowl is to win their conference outright in the regular season.

Most important is that bowl games have become a cherished tradition to locals in college towns that don’t always receive the bright lights of the national stage.

Historical Perspectives and Notable Bowl Games

From the first Rose Bowl, the field of the college football bowl game has only gotten bigger. However, as bowl games gained more attention, the NCAA wanted their successful season-ending events to have a better bearing on the eventual National Champion. After years of the NCAA’s top ranking being crowned by a postseason poll of journalists, FBS conferences agreed to create a simpler process, first with the Bowl Coalition in 1992 and later the Bowl Alliance in 1995.

The current postseason combo of bowl games and the College Football Playoff replaced the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which lasted from 1998 to 2013. In its newest format, the season’s top performing teams can more easily face each other without in-conference commitments or outside factors. The CFP also introduced the FBS to tournament brackets, the popular playoff format used by the FCS and lower football divisions as well as college basketball’s March Madness.

Beyond the accolades, increased media coverage and elevated fan hype, bowl games are special because of their historically high level of competition. From Alabama’s record-35 bowl wins to Virginia Tech’s 27-season streak of consecutive bowl game appearances, the NCAA’s historic series continues to push the limits.

Memorable bowl moments include Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana’s “Chicken Soup Game” at the 1979 Cotton Bowl, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie’s “Hail Flutie” pass at the 1984 Orange Bowl, the Tom Brady-led Michigan Wolverines’ overtime win at the 2000 Orange Bowl, Texas quarterback Vince Young’s game-winning touchdown at the 2006 Rose Bowl and Boise State’s “Statue of Liberty” play at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. More recently, Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba set the FBS bowl game record for single-game receiving yards in the 2022 Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, his teammate and quarterback C.J. Stroud broke the Rose Bowl record for passing yards during the same game.

How Many College Bowl Games Are There in 2025?

The 2025 NCAAF season will host 48 bowl games, including 11 CFP matchups. Find the full postseason bowl game schedule below.

• 12/13 – Cricket Celebration Bowl @ Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• 12/13 – Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk @ Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
• 12/16 – IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl @ Montgomery, AL @ Cramton Bowl
• 12/17 – StaffDNA Cure Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
• 12/17 – 68 Ventures Bowl @ Mobile, AL @ Hancock Whitney Stadium
• 12/19 – Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by Engine @ Conway, SC @ Brooks Stadium
• 12/19 – Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl @ Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
• 12/19 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
• 12/20 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
• 12/20 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
• 12/20 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
• 12/22 – Famous Idaho Potato Bowl @ Boise, ID @ Albertsons Stadium
• 12/23 – Boca Raton Bowl @ Boca Raton, FL @ Flagler Credit Union Stadium
• 12/23 – New Orleans Bowl @ New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome
• 12/23 – Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl @ Frisco, TX @ Ford Center at the Star
• 12/24 – Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl @ Honolulu, HI @ Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex
• 12/26 – GameAbove Sports Bowl @ Detroit, MI @ Ford Field
• 12/26 – Rate Bowl @ Phoenix, AZ @ Chase Field
• 12/26 – SERVPRO First Responder Bowl @ Dallas, TX @ Gerald J. Ford Stadium
• 12/27 – Go Bowling Military Bowl @ Annapolis, MD @ Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
• 12/27 – Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl @ Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
• 12/27 – Wasabi Fenway Bowl @ Boston, MA @ Fenway Park
• 12/27 – Pop-Tarts Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
• 12/27 – Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop @ Tucson, AZ @ Arizona Stadium
• 12/27 – Isleta New Mexico Bowl @ Albuquerque, NM @ Branch Field at University Stadium
• 12/27 – TaxSlayer Gator Bowl @ Jacksonville, FL @ EverBank Stadium
• 12/27 – Kinder’s Texas Bowl @ Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium
• 12/29 – JLab Birmingham Bowl @ Birmingham, AL @ Protective Stadium
• 12/30 – Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl @ Shreveport, LA @ Independence Stadium
• 12/30 – Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl @ Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
• 12/30 – Valero Alamo Bowl @ San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
• 12/31 – Reliaquest Bowl @ Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
• 12/31 – Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl @ El Paso, TX @ Sun Bowl Stadium
• 12/31 – Cheez-It Citrus Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
• 12/31 – SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
• 12/31 – Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic @ Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium*
• 01/01 – Capital One Orange Bowl @ Miami Gardens, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium*
• 01/01 – Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential @ Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl Stadium*
• 01/01 – Allstate Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome*
• 01/02 – Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl @ Fort Worth, TX @ Amon G. Carter Stadium
• 01/02 – Autozone Liberty Bowl @ Memphis, TN @ Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
• 01/02 – Holiday Bowl @ San Diego, CA @ Snapdragon Stadium
• 01/02 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl @ Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium
• 01/08 – Vrbo Fiesta Bowl @ Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium*
• 01/09 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl @ Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium*
• 01/19 – College Football Playoff National Championship @ Miami Gardens, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium*
• 01/27 – East-West Shrine Bowl @ Frisco, TX @ Ford Center
• 01/31 – Panini Senior Bowl @ Mobile, AL @ Hancock Whitney Stadium

* = College Football Playoff game