Editing Playoffs (section)

==American football==

===National Football League===
{{Main|NFL playoffs}}

Evidence of playoffs in [[Professional football (gridiron)|professional football]] dates to at least 1919, when the "[[New York Pro Football League|New York Pro Championship]]" was held in [[Western New York]] (it is possible one was held in 1917, but that is not known for sure). The [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] and [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]] metropolitan areas each played a final, the winners of which would advance to the "New York Pro Championship" on Thanksgiving weekend. The top New York teams were eventually absorbed into the [[National Football League]] upon its founding in 1920, but the league (mostly driven by an [[Ohio League]] that did not have true finals, though they frequently scheduled ''de facto'' championship matchups) did not adopt the New York league's playoff format, opting for a championship based on regular-season record for its first twelve seasons; as a result, four of the first six "championships" were disputed. Technically, a vote of league owners was all that was required to win a title, but the owners had a [[gentlemen's agreement]] to pledge votes based on a score (wins divided by the sum of wins and losses, with a few tiebreakers). When two teams tied at the top of the standings in 1932, an [[1932 NFL Playoff Game|impromptu playoff game]] was scheduled to settle the tie.

The NFL divided its teams into divisions in 1933 and began holding a single playoff final between division winners. In 1950 the NFL absorbed three teams from the rival [[All-America Football Conference]], and the former "divisions" were now called "conferences", echoing the college use of that term. In 1967, the NFL expanded and created four divisions under the two conferences, which led to the institution of a larger playoff tournament. After the 1970 [[AFL–NFL merger]] brought the [[American Football League]] into the NFL, the NFL began to use three divisions and a single wild-card team in each conference for its playoffs, in order to produce eight contenders out of six divisions; this was later expanded in 1978 and 1990 so that more wild-card teams could participate.

In 2002 the NFL added its 32nd team, the [[Houston Texans]], and significantly reshuffled its divisional alignment. The league went from 6 division winners and 6 wild-card spots to 8 division winners and only 4 wild-card qualifiers; by {{NFL year|2020}}, the number of wild-card qualifiers returned to six. The winners of each division automatically earn a playoff spot and a home game in their first rounds, the three top non-division winners from each conference also make the playoffs as wild-card teams. The division winner with the best record in the regular season gets a first-round bye, and each of the other division winners plays one of the three wild-card teams. In the divisional round, the lowest-seeded winner of a wild-card game then plays the lone bye team; the two wild-card winners also advance to play each other. The winners of these two games go to the conference championships, and the winners of those conference finals then face each other in the [[Super Bowl]].

===College football===

====Division I NCAA Football FBS====
{{Main|College Football Playoff National Championship}}

The '''College Football Playoff National Championship''' is a post-season [[college football]] [[bowl game]], used to determine a [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national champion]] of the [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS), which began play in the [[2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2014 college football season]].<ref name="USA Today April 25. 2013">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/04/24/college-football-playoff-questions-and-answers/2111419/|title=Questions and answers for the College Football Playoff|last=Wolken |first=Dan |date=April 25, 2013 |publisher=[[USA Today]] |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425103301/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/04/24/college-football-playoff-questions-and-answers/2111419/ |archive-date=April 25, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game serves as the final of the [[College Football Playoff]], a [[bracket (tournament)|bracket tournament]] between the top four teams in the country as determined by a selection committee, which was established as a successor to the [[Bowl Championship Series]] and its similar [[BCS National Championship Game]]. Unlike the BCS championship, the participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semi-final bowls—hosted by two of the consortium's six member bowls yearly—and the top two teams as determined by the selection committee do not automatically advance to the game in lieu of other bowls.

The game is played at a neutral site, determined through bids by prospective host cities (similarly to the [[Super Bowl]] and [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA final four]]). When announcing it was soliciting bids for the 2016 and 2017 title games, playoff organizers said that the bids must propose host stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000 spectators,<ref name="stadium-future">{{cite web|title=CFB playoff opens bidding for 2016, '17 championship games|author=Jerry Hinnen|work=CBS Sports|date=August 7, 2013|access-date=August 9, 2013|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/23053828/cfb-playoff-opens-bidding-for-2016-2017-championship-games|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825030254/http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/23053828/cfb-playoff-opens-bidding-for-2016-2017-championship-games|archive-date=August 25, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and cities cannot host both a semi-final game and the title game in the same year.<ref name="future-hosting">{{cite web|title=More bids on future title game sites|author=Brett McMurphy|publisher=ESPN|date=July 26, 2013|access-date=August 10, 2013|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/9511533/at-least-7-cities-bid-2016-2017-title-games-sources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727004613/http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9511533/at-least-7-cities-bid-2016-2017-title-games-sources|archive-date=July 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The winner of the game is awarded a new championship trophy instead of the [[AFCA National Championship Trophy|"Crystal Football"]], which has been given by the [[American Football Coaches Association]] (AFCA) since 1986; officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system.<ref>{{cite web|title=New College Football Playoff will reportedly feature a new trophy|author=Dennis Dodd|work=CBS Sports|date=July 23, 2013|access-date=July 30, 2013|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/22857775/say-goodbye-to-the-crystal-football-bcs-symbol-will-not-be-retained|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822220309/http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/22857775/say-goodbye-to-the-crystal-football-bcs-symbol-will-not-be-retained|archive-date=August 22, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The new [[College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy]] is sponsored by [[Dr Pepper]], which paid an estimated $35 million for the sponsorship rights through 2020.<ref name="trophy">{{cite web|title=ESPN Inks Dr Pepper as First Mega-Sponsor of the College Football Playoff Series|author=Anthony Crupi|publisher=Adweek|date=March 25, 2014|access-date=April 7, 2014|url=http://www.adweek.com/news/television/espn-inks-dr-pepper-first-mega-sponsor-college-football-playoff-series-156518|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328013417/http://www.adweek.com/news/television/espn-inks-dr-pepper-first-mega-sponsor-college-football-playoff-series-156518|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The 26.5-inch high, 35-pound trophy was unveiled on July 14, 2014.<ref>Eric Prisbell, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/07/14/college-football-playoff-trophy-unveiling/12624861/ College Football Playoff national championship trophy unveiled], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715065846/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/07/14/college-football-playoff-trophy-unveiling/12624861/ |date=July 15, 2014 }}, ''USA Today'', July 14, 2014</ref>

====Division I NCAA Football FCS====
{{Main|NCAA Division I Football Championship}} 
The '''NCAA Division I Football Championship''' is an American [[college football]] tournament played each year to determine the champion of the [[NCAA Division I]] [[Football Championship Subdivision]] (FCS). Prior to 2006, the game was known as the '''NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship'''. The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The [[College Football Playoff|twelve-team playoff system]] used by the [[Division I-A|Bowl Subdivision]] is not sanctioned by the NCAA.

====Division II NCAA Football====
{{Main|NCAA Division II Football Championship}}

The '''NCAA Division II Football Championship''' is an American [[college football]] tournament played annually to determine a champion at the [[NCAA Division II]] level. It was first held in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional [[bowl game]]s were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the "NCAA College Division" and a poll determined the final champion.

The National Championship final was held at [[Sacramento, California]] from 1973 to 1975. It was in [[Wichita Falls, Texas]] in 1976 and 1977. The game was played in [[Longview, Texas]] in 1978. For 1979 and 1980, [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]] hosted the game. [[McAllen, Texas]] hosted the finals from 1981 to 1985. From 1986 to 2013, the Division II final was played at [[Braly Municipal Stadium]] near the campus of the [[University of North Alabama]] in [[Florence, Alabama]]. Between 2014 and 2017, it was played at [[Children's Mercy Park]] in [[Kansas City, Kansas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2013/12/kansas-city-host-14-ncaa-championships|title=Kansas City to host 14 NCAA championships|work=Sporting Kansas City|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215062740/http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2013/12/kansas-city-host-14-ncaa-championships|archive-date=December 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on [[ESPN]].

====Division III NCAA Football====
{{Main|NCAA Division III Football Championship}}

The '''[[NCAA Division III]] [[college football|Football]] Championship''' began in [[1973 in sports|1973]]. Before 1973, most of the schools now in Division III competed either in the NCAA College Division or the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA). NCAA Divisions II and III were created by splitting the College Division in two, with schools that wished to continue awarding [[athletic scholarship]]s placed in Division II and those that did not want to award them placed in Division III.

The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in them. The Division III final, known as the '''[[Amos Alonzo Stagg|Stagg]] Bowl''', has been played annually in [[Salem, Virginia|Salem]], [[Virginia]] at [[Salem Football Stadium]] since 1993. It was previously played in [[Phenix City, Alabama|Phenix City]], [[Alabama]] at [[Garrett-Harrison Stadium]] (1973–1982, 1985–1989), at the [[College Football Hall of Fame]], when the Hall was located in [[Kings Island, Ohio|Kings Island]], [[Ohio]] at [[Galbreath Field]] (1983–1984), and [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton]], [[Florida]] at [[Hawkins Stadium]] (1990–1992).