Florida Citrus Sports keeps an eye on College Football Playoff expansion talks
Orlando has developed a tradition over the years of being one of the premier destinations for sporting events.
From World Cup matches to WrestleMania to college football bowl games to the NFL’s Pro Bowl, Camping World Stadium — or the Citrus Bowl, as it was fondly known — has been the place to witness some of the best that sports have to offer.
However, as college leaders debate the future of its College Football Playoff system, Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan believes Orlando would be well-suited to participate in those discussions.
“Do we want to have an opportunity to participate in whatever the system offers in the future? Absolutely, yes,” Hogan told the Orlando Sentinel. “Given the opportunity, we’re going to make a lot of noise and be as competitive as anybody in creating opportunities for Orlando to be a part of the playoffs.”
FCS helps bring some top events to Central Florida and the 60,000-seat venue, including the Florida Classic and the Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts bowl games.
The current playoff field is expanding from four to 12 teams over the next two seasons, with the five highest-ranked conference champions earning spots and the following seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP selection committee.
The highest-ranked four conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive first-round byes. The remaining eight teams will be seeded 5-12 and will play each other on the home field of the better-ranked teams.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games: Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, and Sugar. The national championship games will be held at sites to be determined.
However, as conference commissioners continue to discuss the future cycle, which will begin with a new television contract in 2026, there is already talk of expanding the playoff field further.
The latest proposal reportedly being circulated involves expanding the playoff to 14 teams.
As the field expands, bowl games outside the NY6 could take on more significant roles, possibly hosting the first round, quarterfinals or semis.
“That will be up to the College Football Playoff and the playoff manager to decide whether there’s going to be an opportunity to participate,” said Hogan. “If they do that, Orlando will be compelling and aggressive.
“If they decide that the opening-round games, in some form or fashion, are better suited for some neutral-site opportunities, we want to be ready for that as well.”
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Even if the Playoff Management Committee decides not to include more bowl venues in its expansion plans, Hogan said he believes Orlando’s bowl games will remain two of the premier postseason games.
Both were among the most-watched bowls on ESPN platforms outside the New Year’s Six games. The Citrus Bowl led the pack with an average of 6.8 million viewers while the Pop-Tarts Bowl was third at 4.3 million.
“If nothing changes, I still think we have a heck of a business for this community,” said Hogan. “To have four teams in the top 20 [rankings] meet here in Orlando, it’s going to be highly rated viewership on TV and have 10s of thousands of fans in the stadium.”
The Citrus Bowl traditionally features the highest-ranked teams from the Big Ten and SEC not involved in the New Year’s Six bowls. The Pop-Tarts Bowl takes the best available teams from the Big 12 and ACC, including Notre Dame.
This year’s Citrus Bowl featured No. 21 Tennessee against No. 17 Iowa while the Pop-Tarts Bowl featured No. 25 Kansas State against No. 18 N.C. State.
Hogan doesn’t believe expanding the playoff will impact the quality of teams playing in the Orlando bowls.
“I don’t think it’s negatively impactful,” he said. “These are highly successful teams, and it’s good to be in that spot to select those teams potentially.”
Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X at @osmattmurschel.
