The first-ever College Football Playoff championship took place Jan. 12, pitting Oregon and Ohio State in — where else? — AT&T Stadium, also known as “Jerry’s World.”

As in, Jerry Jones. The owner of the Dallas Cowboys.

The stadium is appropriately stunning and has hosted, among other events, the Super Bowl. That mitigated the risk associated with the historical significance of the inaugural CFP final. Though it wasn’t all that different from a BCS title game, all those involved wanted the new system to come off smelling like roses.

Speaking of roses, though, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., seems like a more collegiate venue. Instead it served as host to the semifinal game between Oregon and Florida State, as preserving the traditional Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day was an important selling point this first year.

In any case, most view the first year of the College Football Playoff as a rousing success. Some commissioners recently groused that there were too many meaningless polls released by the committee far from the end of the season, but it served the entire sport well by generating media interest, conversation, ratings and attention. If anything, the CFP committee should consider adding more polls, however meaningless they might be.

The next two years are set — Glendale, Ariz., will host the championship game after the 2015 season and Tampa, Fla., will host the championship game after the 2016 season. Beyond that, cities are preparing to bid on the next three years: January 2018, January 2019 and January 2020.

Between ESPN and the Associated Press, seven cities have announced intentions to bid on at least one of those championships, while at least an additional seven cities are considering bids. Two cities — Glendale, Ariz., and Tampa, Fla. — have announced they will not bid to host a second championship in any of those three years, focusing efforts on ensuring a great event the next two seasons, while Arlington, Texas, may decide to bid on the next round of title games.

Cities must submit bids to the College Football Playoff committee by the end of May, and in October we’ll know which cities will host the event through the 2019 season. (The January title game after the 2014 season is referenced as the 2015 College Football Playoff championship.)

Will Bid To Host 2018, 2019 or 2020 College Football Playoff Championship

Atlanta
Charlotte
Jacksonville, Fla.
Miami/South Florida^
Minneapolis#
San Antonio
Santa Clara, Calif.

^Only eligible for 2018 and 2020.
#Eligible for all three, but only bidding for 2019 and 2020.

May Bid To Host 2018, 2019 or 2020 College Football Playoff Championship

Arlington, Texas
Houston
Indianapolis
New Jersey/New York
New Orleans
Orlando, Fla.
Pasadena, Calif.*

*Only eligible for 2019 and 2020.

The “New Year’s Six” bowls are partnered. Each pair rotates as the host of the semifinals every three years. The Orange and Cotton Bowl (2015-16, 2018-19), Peach and Fiesta Bowl (2016-17, 2019-20), and Rose and Sugar Bowl (2017-18, 2020-21) each are scheduled to host a pair of semifinal games in the next six years.

Some of the cities planning to bid on the CFP championship games are ineligible in certain years due to semifinal hosting responsibilities. But that leaves us in need of three host cities.

Atlanta, host of the SEC championship each year and a great events town, seems like a logical choice to host one of the next three championships. The Falcons also are building a new stadium.

Miami, traditionally a Super Bowl town, would be a great showcase for college football’s biggest most boisterous party.

But personally, it wouldn’t seem right to exclude the Rose Bowl from the first six years of the playoff system.

I’d give the bids to Atlanta (2018), South Florida (2019) and Pasadena, Calif. (2020). What about you?