New College Football Playoff format breaks records
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The Ohio State Buckeyes weren't the only winners of Monday night's college football championship.
The big picture: The first iteration of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) set records in TV ratings, attendance and ticket sales.
By the numbers: 77,660 fans were in attendance to see Ohio State defeat Notre Dame at the CFP National Championship in Atlanta, the highest number since 2015.
Average ticket prices across the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and National Championship increased by 8% compared to last season, according to data from ticket vendor Vivid Seats.
- Vivid Seats and SeatGeek reported that average ticket prices for the title game were over 35% higher than the 2023 championship game.
Stunning stat: Over 22 million viewers watched the Ohio State-Texas semifinal, making it the most-watched Cotton Bowl on record.
- Notre Dame and Penn State's semifinal peaked at almost 20 million viewers and was the most watched Orange Bowl since 2006.
Zoom in: Under the old four-team format, Ohio State and Notre Dame probably wouldn't have qualified.
- OSU had two losses in the regular season and didn't play for a conference championship.
- Notre Dame, an independent, wasn't eligible to play for a conference title and suffered one bad home loss.
Zoom out: The expansion allowed for Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State to host games, pumping millions into their local economies.
What they're saying: Former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn told Axios that the first-round game against Indiana was "one of the greatest atmospheres I've ever been a part of."
What we're watching: "There's going to continue to be a push towards expanding the CFP to 14 or 16 teams," Quinn said. These games are"so good for the schools and for TV ratings."
