2025-26 Big 12 Bowl Selection Process
College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Process
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the event that crowns the national champion in college football. The CFP Selection Committee ranks the top 25 teams at the end of the season, and the 12 playoff participants consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The schools seeded five through eight will host those seeded nine through 12 in first-round games. The quarterfinals and semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. This year's quarterfinals will take place on December 31, 2025, and January 1, 2026, while the semifinals will be January 8-9, 2026. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. For additional information on the College Football Playoff, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.
Big 12 Bowl Partners
Once the CFP has filled its bowl slots, Big 12 bowl partners will make selections from the remaining Conference teams.
|
College Football Playoff (Top 5 Conference Champions + 7 at-large selections)
|
|
Date
|
Time (CT)
|
Bowl
|
Location
|
|
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
|
6:30 PM
|
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (CFP Quarterfinal)
|
Arlington, Texas
|
|
Thursday, January 1, 2026
|
11:00 AM
|
Capital One Orange Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal)
|
Miami, Fla.
|
|
Thursday, January 1, 2026
|
3:00 PM
|
Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (CFP Quarterfinal)
|
Pasadena, Calif.
|
|
Thursday, January 1, 2026
|
7:00 PM
|
Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal)
|
New Orleans, La.
|
|
Thursday, January 8, 2026
|
6:30 PM
|
VRBO Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
|
Glendale, Ariz.
|
|
Friday, January 9, 2026
|
6:30 PM
|
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
|
Atlanta, Ga.
|
|
Monday, January 19, 2026
|
6:30 PM
|
College Football Playoff National Championship
|
Miami, Fla.
|
|
Big 12 Bowls (Listed in Order of Selection)
Pool: Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
|
|
Date
|
Time (CT)
|
Bowl
|
Location
|
|
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
|
8:00 p.m.
|
Valero Alamo Bowl
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
|
Saturday, December 27, 2025
|
2:30 p.m.
|
Pop-Tarts Bowl
|
Orlando, Fla.
|
|
Saturday, December 27, 2025
|
8:15 p.m.
|
Kinder's Texas Bowl
|
Houston, Texas
|
|
Friday, January 2, 2026
|
3:30 p.m.
|
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
|
Memphis, Tenn.
|
|
Friday, December 26, 2025
|
3:30 p.m.
|
Rate Bowl
|
Phoenix, Ariz.
|
|
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
|
TBD
|
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
|
Shreveport, La.
|
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
ESPN Events Pool of Games
|
TBD
|
|
Pac 12 Legacy Bowls (Listed in Order of Selection)
Pool: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah
|
|
Date
|
Time (CT)
|
Bowl
|
Location
|
|
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
|
8:00 p.m.
|
Valero Alamo Bowl
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
|
Friday, January 2, 2026
|
7:00 p.m.
|
Holiday Bowl
|
San Diego, Calif.
|
| Wednesday, December 31, 2025 |
2:30 p.m. |
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
|
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
|
1:00 p.m.
|
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl
|
El Paso, Texas
|
|
Saturday, December 13, 2025
|
8:00 p.m.
|
Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk
|
Inglewood, Calif.
|
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
ESPN Events Pool of Games
|
TBD
|