College Football Playoff rebrands logos as CFP aims to create a clearer identity
Twelve years after crowning its first national champion, the CFP is overhauling its look
The College Football Playoff has crowned a national champion for the last 12 years, and yet a surprising number of fans still don't know who's running the event.
Seventy-two percent of fans incorrectly believe the CFP is run by the NCAA, and only 7% can correctly identify the CFP's brand mark, according to the CFP. On Tuesday, the organization that runs college football's postseason took a step toward fixing that.
The CFP unveiled a refreshed brand identity and logo system that directly integrates the "CFP" moniker across most of its marks, and includes "subtle yet meaningful" tweaks to its main logos. It's a deliberate push toward brand clarity. The most visible change is the application of what the CFP calls "Championship Gold" -- a shimmering, metallic gradient added to the iconic football logo. The bracket strokes of the football have been thickened, their ends rounded and the inset narrowed to more closely mirror the design of the CFP National Championship Trophy. The organization also updated its primary font for "CFP" and introduced new arced wording for every round of the playoffs -- first round, quarterfinals, semifinals and national championship.
The CFP also introduced direct lockup logos for each bowl game hosting the quarterfinals and semifinals, prominently featuring "CFP" branding alongside each bowl's individual mark. pic.twitter.com/okWlmoZiX4
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Notably, the tweaks have deprioritized references to the "College Football Playoff," with the focus directed on the three-letter "CFP" acronym.
"Since its inception, the CFP has represented the pinnacle of college football, capturing the excellence, pageantry and unwavering fan passion that make our sport so unique," CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a statement. "Our refreshed logo system builds on the successes of our first 12 years and positions the brand for continued growth moving forward."
The brand refresh also introduces direct lock-up logos for the six bowl games hosting the quarterfinals and semifinals -- the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, Capital One Orange Bowl, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Each lock-up logo prominently features "CFP" in the branding.
The new logo for the national championship game includes an extended version of the classic golden football, a change that closely resembles the look of the CFP trophy.
The rebrand arrives at a moment of genuine momentum for the event. The national championship game between Indiana and Miami in January drew 30.1 million viewers, the second most-watched cable telecast on record.
The CFP will remain at 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, after the Big Ten and SEC, the event's controlling partners, were unable to reach an agreement in January on expanding the format to 16 teams or more. Proposals have included as many as 28 teams. The CFP has until December to finalize the format for the 2027-28 season.
