by Laura Farber, a lawyer by trade, found herself in a courtroom on Wednesday defending a deposition when she glanced at her opposing attorney and handed them a message.
“I apologized to him and told him that I would need to take a lot of breaks today,” Farber said.
On one of the most important days in college football history, Farber pulled off his juggling act. As chair of the Rose Bowl Management Committee, she argued a court case and delivered the long-awaited Rose Bowl decision on expanding the college football playoffs. Bowling’s oldest active game has agreed to amend its contract with the CFP, paving the way for the playoffs to expand from four to 12 teams in 2024.
“We had no intention of being and didn’t believe we would ever be the only reason this didn’t happen,” Farber said Thursday. “So what I can say is that we appreciate the CFP board. The deal includes the Rose Bowl game as part of the playoff system and we look forward to working with them. Because as you know, this will only be the beginning!
Rose Bowl and CFP officials have been embroiled in negotiations for the past few weeks, until Wednesday, when CFP leaders set for the bowl to finally make a decision. La Rose was in a position to single-handedly delay playoff expansion. CFP officials needed a unanimous agreement from the CFP’s six bowls to expand the playoffs to 12 teams before the ESPN contract expires after the 2025 playoffs. Five of the six – Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Peach and Cotton – were in favor of modifying the contract for an early expansion.
La Rose delayed his decision while asking for guarantees to keep his traditional date and time (2 p.m. PT on January 1) in future iterations of the playoffs, which the CFP executive board refused. Little to no guarantees can be made for the playoffs beyond 2025 as no contract exists.
In the end, the Rose Bowl received no preferential treatment. There were no guarantees or concessions made for a future playoff, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. However, several times during a 30-minute press conference, Hancock suggested that the CFP will try for the Rose to maintain its date and time, if necessary.
The Rose Bowl may eventually have to leave its traditional timeslot, but it remains a part of college football’s expanded playoffs.
John McCoy/AP
“It would be in everyone’s best interest to have everything happening in the Rose Bowl kick off at 2 p.m. PT,” he said.
Farber acknowledged that the Rose Bowl asked the CFP to retain its exclusive window in any playoffs beginning after 2025, but ultimately waived that request. The game is ready to “remain flexible” with the schedule as needed, although its intention is to stay on January 1.
In a newly constructed playoff series, that can be tough. In the expanded playoff format approved by the presidents on Sept. 2, the six legacy bowls would host quarterfinals and semifinals in rotation. In a three-year window, each bowl would host two quarter-finals and one semi-final.
As a quarter-final in 2024 and 25, the Rose Bowl is expected to retain its traditional date and time. At least three of the four quarter-finals will start on New Year’s Day in 24 and 25.
However, in the new iteration of the playoffs from 2026, the rounds may change dates. The semi-finals could instead be played on New Year’s Day if the regular season shifts by a week, which many believe will eventually happen.
In this case, the Rose would start on January 1 once every three years. In years when its CFP game isn’t played on New Year’s Day, the Rose could host a second game between a Pac-12 and Big Ten team during its traditional time window.
Officials are open to this idea but have not made a decision.
“It’s premature because we don’t know until we know what the system looks like,” Farber says. “What’s the program, how will it work…we don’t even have the ability to think about what you just asked me.” I’m not going to say it’s in the mix or not in the mix. I’m just going to say it’s premature at this point.
Negotiations between the Rose and the PSC have dragged on longer than others because of the financial side, Farber said. Unlike the other Bowls, the Rose has a separate agreement with ESPN, as well as an agreement with the Pac-12 and the Big Ten.
It’s uncertain whether those separate contractual arrangements will carry over into a new playoff, Farber said. The CFP prefers that all contracts be under the CFP umbrella, Hancock has said in the past.
“We negotiated all the time,” Farber said. “In all negotiations, there are always back and forths. And as the only bowling game with a separate broadcast deal, it wasn’t the smoothest process.
She reiterated that the bowl never intended to stand in the way of an early expansion. Although some CFP officials have expressed frustration with the Rose Bowl’s demands, the game has “never been threatened” with exclusion from the new playoffs, Farber said.
“From the Alliance to BCS to getting the four-team playoffs and now the upcoming 12-team playoffs, we’ve found ways to weave the ‘grandfather of all’ into all of them,” Farber said. “We are confident that an expanded playoff will create opportunity and an exciting post-season atmosphere and we are very supportive of the college football playoffs and excited to be a part of it.”
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