Why aren’t there any College football bowl games on New Year’s Day this year?
Watching college football games on New Year’s Day has long been a tradition in the U.S., but for 2023, there won’t be matches on the first day of the year.
The tradition of playing college football bowl games on New Year’s Day began more than a hundred years ago. In fact, the very first bowl game ever held took place on this holiday, on Jan. 1, 1902, where Michigan slaughtered Stanford 49-0.
The New Year’s Six
Since that time, the New Year’s Six emerged, the term referring to six of the ten oldest bowl games presently being played at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. These games are played every year on or around New Year’s Day.
In 2023, there won’t be any bowl games taking place on the first day of the year. The New Year’s Six matches have been divided into two days, with two games being played on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, and the other four taking place on Monday, Jan. 2.
The reason New Year’s Day is being skipped by college football this year is because the holiday falls on a Sunday. This day is reserved for NFL coverage, so the bowl games had to be rescheduled. Bowl games resume on Monday, and the details can be found below.
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Here are the first college football bowl games for 2023.
| GAME | VENUE | TIME | TV & ONLINE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReliaQuest Bowl Illinois vs. Mississippi State | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2, ESPN App |
| Cotton Bowl Tulane vs. Southern California | AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN App |
| Citrus Bowl Purdue vs. LSU | Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida | 1 p.m. ET | ABC, ESPN App |
| Rose Bowl Utah vs. Penn State | Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, California | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN App |