ABC will air six non-College Football Playoff bowl games in 2026, one more than last season, as ESPN unveiled its bowl schedule for 2026-27.
ABC will air bowl game tripleheaders on Saturday, Dec. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 2. The increase comes as ABC is also airing more College Football Playoff games, including one quarterfinal, a semifinal, and the national championship for the first time this season.
The start of bowl season is moving two days later than last year. The first bowl game last season, the LA Bowl, was played on the same day as the Army-Navy Game. However, the first 2026 bowl game will be the Salute to Veterans Bowl after Army-Navy on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Other changes include ESPN2, which aired the Xbox Bowl last year, not airing any bowl games this year. Additionally, with the College Football Playoff taking New Year’s Eve off to avoid Thursday Night Football, the Texas Bowl will fill the primetime ESPN slot.
ESPN is not the only network to air bowl games, but the Sun Bowl, Arizona Bowl, and Holiday Bowl are the only bowl games not scheduled to air on an ESPN-owned network. The Sun Bowl will air on CBS on Dec. 31, while the Arizona Bowl will air on The CW on a date to be determined. However, the Holiday Bowl has still not announced a media partner. The Poinsettia Bowl is also reportedly looking to return in 2026, but did not appear in the official release for Bowl Season.
There are also some sponsorship changes in the bowls themselves. ESPN is labeling last year’s Xbox Bowl as the Frisco Football Classic, while the Rate Bowl is moving from Chase Field to Mountain America Stadium at Arizona State University and becoming the Cactus Bowl.
But with talks about College Football Playoff expansion in the air, the future of bowl season is an open question. The already expanded College Football Playoff has significantly reduced the caliber of teams playing in bowl games, and that says nothing about the increasing number of players who opt out of games.
On the other hand, ESPN notes that non-CFP bowl games last year averaged 3.1 million viewers on its networks, up 13% from 2024-25 and the highest non-CFP bowl average since the 2015-16 season.
The lack of major changes to bowls in 2026 suggests that ESPN is happy with the status quo for now. But if the CFP does expand, bowl season could see some major schedule changes again.
About Manny Soloway
Manny Soloway is a Iowa based writer focusing on TV ratings. He is also the founder of the TV Media Blog substack.