The College Football Playoff and ESPN agreeing to their five-year, nearly $1.7 billion dollar deal on Monday to expand the playoff field to 24 teams in 2027 leaves a cherished college football tradition in limbo.
What will happen to the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway now that conference championships are being eliminated for additional playoff games?
The beloved halftime challenge where college students compete in a football toss for scholarship money is a fixture in conference championship games, but what happens now that the weekend slate is being eliminated completely?
As Dr. Pepper's deal with ESPN as the official sponsor of the CFP and presenting sponsor of the CFP trophy expires in 2026, it's most likely that the halftime challenge is just transferred
to a new CFP round, possibly with a new sponsor if Dr. Pepper doesn't re-up its deal with ESPN.
Our best guess is that it moves to the quarterfinals, where the four games to decide the semifinals match the four-game slate of conference championship weekend. We could also see it happening throughout the College Football Playoff in various games, or just condensed for a big battle in the national title game.
We highly doubt this cherished tradition goes anywhere, but the timing and potentially the sponsor are in question.
So, we'll get one more run this year?
Yes, there will be one more conference championship weekend with the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What will happen to Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway with 24-team CFP changes?
