The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams beginning in the 2024 season, and the dates and bowl assignments were set on Tuesday for the first two editions of the expanded playoff. The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the semifinal games, while the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl will serve as the quarterfinal sites over a two-day span on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day as the 12-team playoff era begins following the 2024 season. First-round games take place on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams. 

"We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today," College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said. "We appreciate the efforts of all the parties involved in finalizing this schedule. This is the next significant step in bringing clarity to the launch of the 12-team playoff format in 2024. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an important milestone along the way."

Tuesday's announcement confirms the proposed dates that were reported last week.

One of the biggest challenges in the expanded CFP is to avoid the NFL — the unquestioned ratings king in the live sports broadcasting landscape. As a result, the four quarterfinal games and two semifinal games will be played mid-week in order to avoid going head-to-head with NFL behemoth.