Chick-fil-A Bowl May Become Part of Playoffs

Atlanta, which already is a strong player in college football, reportedly could become part of the new college football playoff system.

ESPN has reported that the Chick-fil-A Bowl will be part of a semifinal-game playoff rotation that will replace the current Bowl Championship Series system, beginning after the 2014-15 season.

Details are expected to be announced Wednesday (April 24) in Pasadena, CA., where college football officials have been meeting to hammer out the new "plus-one" system. The new format will be called the College Football Playoff.

Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX, will host the first title game under the new format on Jan. 12, 2015, ESPN reported.

Under the new system, the national semifinals will rotate among six bowl games, meaning there will be two playoff games along with four other major bowls. The location for the national title game will be up for bid each year, similar to the Super Bowl.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl will become part of the semifinal rotation in 2017, and will stay in that rotation through 2026, ESPN reported.

A Chick-fil-A Bowl official says that the game eventually could bid for the title game as well.

"When we look at the Chick-fil-A Bowl right now, it's about $35 million. When you are talking about a semifinal game, a championship game, I think you can triple that – and maybe even higher," Chick-fil-A Bowl President Gary Stokan told Fox5 News.

~ Suwanee Patch