Editing Playoffs (section)

====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>