Houston set to host its 1st CFP title game, could see it return after new contracts are signed

HOUSTON — As Houston prepares to host the College Football Playoff title game for the first time when No. 1 Michigan faces No. 2 Washington on Monday night, CFP executive director Bill Hancock believes the city will factor into future playoff games when the new contract is signed.

Though the playoffs will expand from four teams to 12 next season, the next two seasons’ sites already have been chosen under the previous contract.

After that, other bowls could be chosen to host quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games, but Hancock said they haven’t done much work on that yet.

“We really haven’t started talking very much about what’s to come,” Hancock told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We go to Atlanta and then Miami after that, and after that we’re not sure, but I would expect Houston to have a long-term presence with CFP because they have everything we need.”

This is the 10th year of the CFP and the title game has been played in a different stadium each year. Houston has been trying to get the game for years and organizers hope to host it again in the not-too-distant future.

“We will definitely bid again,” Houston Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke said. “We started in 2016 really talking to them and telling them about our intent of wanting to do the best championship game ever. Our organization built the stadiums, and then our job transferred into filling those stadiums with big mega events. And I’m really happy that we’ve been able to do that and really put Houston on the map as this great sports town that knows how to host these big mega events in a great way and really take it to a new level."

Though this is the first time Houston has hosted the college football championship game, the city has welcomed many other big events in recent years. The NCAA Final Four was held in the city last year and in 2016, and Houston hosted the Super Bowl in 2017. In two years, Houston will be one of the cities where the FIFA World Cup will be played.

There is some concern that when the new contract is signed in the expanded playoff system, the bowls that traditionally have hosted the biggest games might lose their spots or have fewer opportunities to host the top games.

Hancock wasn’t ready to discuss that possibility Wednesday, but he said the changing landscape of not only the playoffs but college football in general will continue to alter how bowl games are viewed.

“I think we have to look at bowl games differently,” he said. “Certainly players, as we all know, have opted out. Some have gone, some have declared for the NFL, some have gone into the transfer portal. And I think that it's a fact and a new day."

He doesn’t like that some around college football have started calling the non-playoff bowl games ‘exhibition games.'"

“I’m not sure I would subscribe to that,” he said. “But on the other hand, what have they always been? Opportunities to go and enjoy yourself at the end of the season. I’m bullish on the future of the bowl games because even with CFP they’ve held up great. Still drawing fans and still drawing television viewers and still providing opportunities for young people.”