Where should a National championship be played? (Venue)

[81usaf92]

I ask this question because it never fails that some prominent ESPN or Fox analyst says “for history and pageantry it should be the Rose Bowl”. Well here is the issues for me with that… 1) the Rose Bowl walled itself off from 70% of the nation for political reasons and basically became irrelevant 2) the Rose bowl itself aside from a 3rd quarter sunset is a dump of a stadium (and a national championship is almost certainly a night game) and 3) Since 98 teams west of the Mississippi are 3-9 in national championship games (Oklahoma and Texas are 2 of those wins). My point with #3 is that most of the teams winning national championships are coming from the East so what’s the point of going to LA every year?

So if not the Rose Bowl then where. If we go centrally located then the Cotton at Jerry World is it. If it’s tradition then Cotton, Sugar, and Orange are it.

But I think most would agree that it should be a rotation. But what type is the question. Should it be a rotation between the NY6 (Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Orange, Peach, and Fiesta) or should you use the NFL bid model like we initially did with the CFP.

I don’t know what the best for the sport is other than it SHOULD NOT be the Rose Bowl alone like some of the talking heads who sit in their cozy booths and paid for jet fare keep clamoring for. If I was to give a solution it would be the NY6 rotation.

 

[Con]

I voted Rose Bowl because the field is beautiful every year, but if it just rotated with the major bowls NY6 I would be on board with that also.

I wished they would play the championship game on a Saturday just like the rest of the year too, but that won’t happen again I suppose.

 

[Toddrn]

I think it should be played in a domed stadium. No weather issues, no new turf issues, etc.

 

[Tide Rev]

No matter where it is played, Saturday would be the best day/night. Why not play it on the same day a majority of regular season games are played? But then again, when does the NCAA do anything that makes common sense?

 

[JDCrimson]

Rotate to any indoor stadium in the country on a Saturday night after NFL playoff games are finished.

This Monday night schedule sucks for everyone. Everybody is working and rushing to home to watch the game or having to miss work to go to the game. This is a bigger deal than some random Monday night game that is leaning on later kickoff time and local attendance.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

..:most of the teams winning national championships are coming from the East so what’s the point of going to LA every year?…

If you want to play it in Lincoln NE every year, why not just say so?

 

[Krymsonman]

I say rotate it between Dallas, New Orleans, and Atlanta, with Vegas possibly an option. All domed stadiums so no weather issues, all easy to get to with plenty of hotels etc. Per our game Thursday, why do Indiana and Alabama need to play out in California?

 

[81usaf92]

If you want to play it in Lincoln NE every year, why not just say so?

Memorial stadium is a dump within a dump of a city. So no. Now If Omaha made a 75-85k football stadium then I would be all for it. But they would probably need it to be a dome.

I said Jerry World because it’s centrally located and can handle a national championship setting. But if you want a centrally locatedish rotation then Minneapolis, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, and Indianapolis are probably the best places to do it because it’s domed and most centralized locations don’t have good weather in January.

 

[81usaf92]

No matter where it is played, Saturday would be the best day/night. Why not play it on the same day a majority of regular season games are played? But then again, when does the NCAA do anything that makes common sense?

Probably the biggest advantage that the Rose has over all of the other bowls in pushing the “we should be the permanent championship location” is that they don’t have a NFL team to worry about. They can play on a Saturday at anytime.

However, if that is the big push then why not San Antonio. It’s probably a better city to tour than LA, centrally located, and has a domed stadium that doesn’t have a nfl team.

 

[BhamToTexas]

I don’t see them moving the game to a Saturday. There is too much money to make (hotels, restaurants, etc). If it was Saturday night a lot of folks would fly in Saturday morning and then leave on Sunday. Making it Monday night practically forces most people to come in for the whole weekend and then not leave until Tuesday.

 

[uafan4life]

I voted for something else as I think the city bids are fine and good - but I do think there should be some caveats that don't currently exist.

Given the time of year the game is taking place, domes are best and should receive priority over any non-dome bid. I also think fan experience should be taken more into account - day/time of game, lodging, transportation, access to concessions/restrooms in the stadium, local tourism, etc. - should be considered and given fairly equal weight in the process. I'd also like a no-repeated-location rule, barring emergency situations, for a 5-year period or so, so players and fans aren't likely to visit the same place twice in a short time span.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I think it needs to be rotated geographically between (say) Indianapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, and perhaps another domed stadium in the Midwest/Sorta North.

Btw, this thread reminded me of something.

In 1985, Georgia Southern played Furman for what was then called the I-AA championship (now FCS).
The game was an absolute thriller, a 44-42 win for Georgia Southern, who scored the winner in the final ten seconds. I saw this game, it was sensational.

Those two schools are less than 200 miles apart.

They played the game in Tacoma, Washington, because that's where that year's title game was.
It drew 5500 fans.

Don't you think if the game had been in, say, Atlanta (although the Georgia Dome was not yet built) or Jacksonville or even on campus at either Georgia or Clemson, the turnout would have been much better?
Granted, Atlanta temp was 38 degrees that day - but it was 50 in Jacksonville.

 

[Bamaro]

Home field of top rated team.

 

[Tubafore]

My vote is for Jerry's World...despite the name. Here's why:

1. Massive airport to handle the influx
2. An oversized NFL stadium to hold as many people as possible
3. Dome to virtually eliminate weather issues
4. Lots of hotels in the area
5. It's in the Central Time Zone (God's time), so local businesses and logistics are setup for a night game ending and having people flood out.
6. Dallas is

Now, let's just move it to Saturday and be done with it. You're the College Football National Championship game, the NFL should be catering to you, not the other way around. So act like it.

 

[Cruiser]

My vote is for Jerry's World...despite the name. Here's why:

1. Massive airport to handle the influx
2. An oversized NFL stadium to hold as many people as possible
3. Dome to virtually eliminate weather issues
4. Lots of hotels in the area
5. It's in the Central Time Zone (God's time), so local businesses and logistics are setup for a night game ending and having people flood out.
6. Dallas is

Now, let's just move it to Saturday and be done with it. You're the College Football National Championship game, the NFL should be catering to you, not the other way around. So act like it.

All good; but the NFL rules the roost on TV ratings. In 2025 96 of the top 100 rated TV shows were sports events. 84 were NFL games. BTW; the non-sports events were Trump inauguration, Trump State of the Union, Oscars(?) and Macy's Parade.

 

[davefrat]

The NC game should be held wherever Alabama plays it's last game every season.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

If you want to play it in Lincoln NE every year, why not just say so?

Having been there, trust me: NOBODY wants that.

It's like Fenway Park or the Rose Bowl - you go to say you went.

 

[GP for Bama]

I like rotating the national championship between the New Years 6 games. The highest bidder is not bad either. If it is bid.... then it should be in a good weather site for the sake of the fans.

 

[MetaZeus]

My vote is for the Rose Bowl. When I think of College Football Championships, that's the venue that comes to mind. It is the epitome of NCAA football imo. The weather is generally great, it's outdoors with stunning scenery, and great viewing even on tv. It's just the best venue. If we played it every year at like 4pm for the sunset on the mountains so you get day and night (for fireworks/drone show/etc.) it'd be the perfect time. I get why people want a dome and being centrally located and whatnot, just feels like college ball championships should be played in the most iconic location. The Rose Bowl.

 

[BamaNation]

No way should it be the Rose Bowl. @81usaf92 has articulated many of the reasons and if you want more reasons look at the thread @JessN started asking about thoughts on going this year. It's a dump in an impossible to get to location in a region where college football is just a tiny afterthought.

Also, as mentioned, it should be on a Saturday.

My vote on a permanent location would be Jerry World. Keep it out of Florida, New Orleans, Cali, NY etc.

Phoenix / Las Vegas / The ATL, Nashville etc. would also be acceptable from a logistics / weather standpoint. Kick the rose bowl out of any rotation. If New Orleans got serious about safety and cleaning up the city, they could be considered