The 2025 Orange Bowl schedule takes place on January 9th, 2025. The game is one of the semifinal matchups in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff. Now that we have 12 teams in the playoffs this postseason, the New Year’s Six bowls are split out across the four quarterfinal and two semifinal games. We have the current Orange Bowl schedule and other information that you need for planning until we see which teams make it to the final four left in the playoffs. The Orange Bowl has been played in some fashion in the Miami area since 1935.
How Does the 2024-25 College Football Playoff Work?
This year’s College Football playoff will see 12 teams earn berths. The teams will be the five major conference champions, the highest ranked other conference champion, and six at-large bids. All seeds are based on the rankings by the College Football Playoff committee. The top four seeds earn a first round bye.
These will be made up of five major conference champions plus the highest ranked other teams in college football (this was 6 and 6 before the PAC-12 got reduced to two teams). The selection committee will use the same ranking systems in the past. The four highest-ranked conference champions enjoy a first round bye in the playoff. The first round of the playoffs will see the higher of the two seeds of the four matchups host the respective game. The Orange Bowl along with the Cotton Bowl is one of the two semifinal game locations.
What Stadium is the Orange Bowl Played in?
The Orange Bowl is played at Hard Rock Stadium located in Miami Gardens. The stadium is the home field for both the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes. Capitol One is the sponsor of the game which is officially known as the Capital One Orange Bowl. The official capacity of the stadium is a tad under 65,000 fans. The record number of fans in attendance at a game was for the 2013 BCS National Championship at 80,120.
Hard Rock Stadium Seating Chart for the Orange Bowl
2025 Orange Bowl Schedule
Here’s the 2025 Orange Bowl schedule. Please note that the kickoff time has been confirmed for 8PM ET time. You can check out the official events schedule for any new things to do added prior to the game. The Orange Bowl TV schedule is carried by ESPN for 2025 and 2026. More specifics on the broadcast times will be released closer to game day.
6:30 AM – AvMed Orange Bowl Beach Run (South Point Park)
9:00 AM- Orange Bowl Family Fall Fest (Harris Field Park)
9:00 AM- Orange Bowl Family Fun & Fit Day (Carter Park)
11:30 AM – Gates to the stadium open
3:00 PM – Pregame activities begin / Parking Gates Open
8:00 PM – Kickoff
*All times noted in Eastern Time
Please note, if you are attending the game in person, you need to have your parking set before arrival if planning to park at the stadium. If you need to speak to a human, the Orange Bowl Ticket office phone # is: (305) 341-4701.
Orange Bowl History (Before the Playoff)
The Orange Bowl has been played in the Miami metro area since January 1st, 1935. It is one of the oldest bowl games in college football behind only the Rose Bowl. The Orange Bowl originally did not have any tie-ins to conferences. They would typically pick a team from the south east against one from central or northeastern states. Starting in the 1950s through the mid-90’s the bowl had a strong relationship with the Big Eight (Big 12 today). The champion would play in the game unless they did so the year before (then the runner-up would play). Starting in 2007, the ACC Champion or highest available team would play in the bowl.
Between 1998-2013, the Orange Bowl was part of the BCS (Bowl Championship Series). It served as the BCS National Championship game in 2001 and 20025. Then, the championship game became a separate game for a few years, and the Orange Bowl hosted it in 2009 and 2013 (in addition to the Orange Bowl if that is confusing enough). After the 2013 season, we moved to the current college football playoff system.
Orange Bowl History (Since the College Football Playoff)
So, with how the 2024-25 college football playoff is setup, the Orange Bowl will see two of the four highest-ranked remaining teams in the playoffs.being replaced by the current College Football Playoff (CFP). The Orange Bowl has served as one of the New Year’s Six bowl games in the CFP since the 2014 season. The bowl hosted a national semifinal following the 2015, 2018, and 2021 seasons. For the 2026 college football playoff, the Orange Bowl is picked to host a quarterfinal matchup.
