While the bowls themselves existed for decades before, the "New Year's Six" was created alongside the institution of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014. For the 2014 through 2023 seasons, two of the New Year's Six games served as the two semifinal games in the four-team playoff, while teams appearing in the other four New Year's Six games were played as traditional bowl games, some with conference tie-ins. The six bowl games rotated the hosting of the two CFP semifinal games.
Since the CFP expanded to twelve teams for the 2024 season, the six bowls now host quarterfinal or semifinal games. The Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Peach, and Fiesta bowls will rotate hosting semifinal games.
In June 2012, the BCS conference presidents approved the College Football Playoff (CFP), a four-team playoff, to replace the Bowl Championship Series. Three bowls—the Rose, Sugar, and Orange—because of their contracts with the power conferences, were selected to be part of the rotating semifinal playoff games, with three more bowls to be named. In years when these three bowls would not host a playoff game, matchups were determined using the traditional conference tie-ins for each bowl:
Rose Bowl: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Sugar Bowl: SEC vs. Big 12
Orange Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten, SEC, or Notre Dame
Each conference champion would be selected first for the bowl corresponding to their conference's tie-in, though in instances where the conference champion was selected for the College Football Playoff, the next-highest-ranked team from that conference was selected. Conference commissioners also granted the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion a guaranteed slot in one of the six bowl games. In July 2013, the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Peach Bowl were announced as the other three rotating semifinal playoff bowls, ahead of the Holiday Bowl. Each bowl would host a playoff game once every three years, and the rotation pairing were set as: Rose–Sugar, Orange–Cotton, and Peach–Fiesta.
When the playoff expanded to 12 teams beginning in 2024, all six bowls now host a playoff game on a yearly basis. Five of the bowls will rotate hosting semifinal games, with the Rose Bowl becoming a permanent quarterfinal game so it can maintain its traditional New Year's Day time. As a result, all conference tie-ins to the Rose, Sugar, and Orange bowls have been eliminated. Starting in 2026, the top three seeds in order will select their quarterfinal bowl and the top seed will select its potential semifinal bowl.
Game results
Games are listed in chronological order, with final CFP rankings prior to the respective bowl being played.
There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2025.
The 2015 (December), 2018, 2021, and 2025 (January) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.
