Peach Bowl CEO David Epps on NIL, the CFP, and the Business of College Football

David Epps discusses NIL, neutral-site economics, CFP expansion, fan trust, event experience, and how the Peach Bowl is adapting to college football’s changing business.

SportsEpreneur spoke with David Epps, CEO of Peach Bowl, Inc., on August 6, 2026, ahead of the Auburn-Baylor Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta. The conversation began with Peach Bowl’s NIL model and widened into neutral-site economics, CFP expansion, geography and fan travel, college football governance, fan trust, sports betting, event experience, and the changing business of college football.

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. For SportsEpreneur’s analysis of the economics behind the model and what it could mean for neutral-site operators, read The Rising Price of Taking College Football Off Campus.

NIL and the Neutral-Site Model

Eric Kasimov:

What problem were you trying to solve with this initiative?

Editor’s note: The recording began during Epps’s response, so the opening portion of his answer is not included.

David Epps:

We’re now at the point where we’re waiting to see if this Protect College Sports Act is going to go through. But for us, when you’re trying to put on a neutral-site game like the Aflac Kickoff Game — that’s the Baylor-Auburn matchup — it’s hard enough to convince a team to come play away from their home stadium, potentially have to give up a home game.

So one of the incentives toward doing that is if participation in that game can help generate some additional NIL revenue. Our approach on this game — it was originally an Auburn home game — and so our discussion with Auburn centered around us being the event promoter, utilizing student-athletes to help us promote ticket sales, promote fan events, promote television viewership in a way that actually uses NIL for what it’s intended to be, which is leaning on the value of the student-athlete’s name, image, and likeness to help create some commercial benefit or excitement around your product.

We’re excited about it, and we think it’s a model that’s worked in college basketball with that Players Era Championship in Vegas. But I think we’re the first ones to do this in college football, and it’s exciting. We feel like it’s a model that can work going forward. Whether it translates into the traditional bowl games, I don’t know that I see that. But in terms of more of these neutral-site games, it’s definitely something that, for us, is on the table as we look to book these games in the future.

Eric Kasimov:

Are your contemporaries saying, “What are you doing?” Or are they saying that maybe on one hand, and on the other hand they’re saying, “How do we do this as well?”

I agree with you. This is going to be a massive change, and I guess it gives Auburn two things. They have to sell losing a home game to their fans, but they also have to compete, and one way they’re going to compete is they have to have talent on the field. They may have to spend more money. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but it gives them a better chance to compete with Georgia, Alabama, and the national teams as well.

Going back to my original question, with the other bowl games and the other sites, do you see this happening across them? It seems like this is something that you’re innovating, and I could see this definitely taking off.

David Epps:

I think that if the other sites that are trying to do these types of games don’t volunteer to do it, I suspect that the teams who are looking will ask, because it’s clearly something that can work if you do it the right way. There are ways to do it that are probably not in the spirit or the letter of the law.

But as long as you’re able to, like you said, create some benefit for the teams from a recruiting standpoint and maybe even from a player-retention standpoint, this should be the model. Look, I’m a sports purist. I’d love to sit here and say, “The players shouldn’t get paid. They’re getting their college education.” But I’ve sort of changed my thinking on that over the past 10 years.

I don’t think any of us in college sports — not just those of us looking to do these types of neutral-site games — can be naive enough to stand on that soapbox and say NIL is bad, it’s ruining the sport. The way that it’s being done currently, universally, is not good for the sport. But I think that if the right guardrails can get put up, something like what we’re doing fits perfectly inside that ecosystem.

Eric Kasimov:

I get it. Are you getting pushback from anyone, from anywhere?

David Epps:

No, we haven’t. I’m sure that there are some purists who just hate the idea of NIL in general. And it’s always hard for a fan. I always tell people I’m a fan first.

So I appreciate, if I’m a fan, for example, and a game that might have been at Jordan-Hare in my stadium is now no longer there, I get some frustration with that. But to your point, the flip side of that coin is there’s a greater good for the whole football program.

There was a similar situation last year here in Atlanta where Georgia Tech moved their Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry game into Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It wasn’t wildly popular with their fans, but it was the right decision because it gave their athletic department and their football program a great one-time financial boost that helped them compete. You can see it’s a program on the rise.

Eric Kasimov:

They need this. They need to stay in the game, and they need access to money. I think we’re all going to have to give up something a little bit.

But you’re not totally giving it up. You’re still getting a great game in an incredible location that fans can get to and watch on television. And in order to compete, like I said, you need access to talent. A lot of coaches would say, “I’m a great coach, maybe, but I’m only as good as the talent on the field.”

“We’re in the Experience Business”

Eric Kasimov:

Sports is obviously, like I see it, the last remaining thing that we all do together. Besides concerts and live events and whatnot, sports is where it’s at, and you see the media and the TV rights deals and all this kind of thing.

Of course, it’s about winning and losing and championships and the camaraderie and everyone coming together, but in many respects it’s a business. It’s always been a business. What business do you see yourself in today?

David Epps:

That’s a great question. I don’t know that I’ve ever been asked that question.

We are ultimately — and this sounds a little bit ethereal — in the experience business. No matter who you are, whether you’re a coach, a player, a fan, a member of the media, a conference commissioner, we’re in the business of creating an experience that helps you accomplish what it is you want to accomplish.

If you’re a fan and you just want to go, we’re here for your entertainment. If you’re an athlete who wants a chance to win a game and move on to compete for a national championship, we’re in the business of making that as frictionless and as easy as we can for you.

It’s sports and entertainment overall, but ultimately we think of ourselves as creating different experiences, and they work for whatever our constituents’ needs really are. It’s going to continue to evolve. I tell students: Sports business — the important word in that is not sports. The important word in that is business.

You don’t go into sports business because you’re a fan. If you’re a fan, you go buy season tickets. We all still have to make more money than we spend, and we all have to take care of our customers and our constituents.

But once you get past that baseline, we just want to make sure we create experiences that nobody forgets and that they associate with Atlanta.

Eric Kasimov:

I love that. I think it’s an important message being shared with young people today to remember that. If you’re a fan, buy season tickets — the way you just said that is really strong.

Is the customer the fan, or is it across the board? Because you have the schools, you have the athletes, you have sponsors — you’ve always had sponsors — ESPN, all the different media sites. That’s a lot. Are they all your customers in a way? How do you look at that?

David Epps:

Very much. We look at our customers as the CFP, the conferences and conference commissioners, the coaches, the players, the fans, and the media. Those are our customers.

We do business in a city, and so, in a sense, the city isn’t really a customer, but they’re a partner because we’re here to create impact for our city.

Each one of those constituencies I named has different goals. For us to stay successful doing what we do, we have to meet each of those. If you’re a member of the media and you’re coming to our game, you’ve got a very specific set of criteria that is going to qualify this as a successful trip for you. Part of our job is to cater to every one of those groups and make sure that really works to their advantage.

CFP Expansion and the Need to Adapt

Eric Kasimov:

You mentioned the CFP. There’s a lot of dialogue, obviously, happening with an expanded playoff. You’re heavily involved with that no matter what happens, I would imagine. I don’t know if you get multiple games in a scenario like that or what that would look like, but what’s your take? What’s the Peach Bowl’s take on an expanded playoff?

David Epps:

One, we’re not at the table, so we don’t get a vote in this. But we feel like we’re in a really good position because, being one of the six bowl games that are part of the playoff now, whether it stays at 12 or goes to 16 or 24, we feel like there’s still a place for the six of us.

If you go to 24 and it adds another round, that probably adds another round at home stadiums. When you get to doing semifinals and quarterfinals at home stadiums around Christmas and New Year’s, that gets challenging for a lot of reasons.

I think our hope is just that whatever system the powers that be decide on, we don’t undo what makes college football so special and unique. I’d say it’s above my pay grade to say—

Eric Kasimov:

Whether it should be—yeah.

David Epps:

12 or 16 or 24. But we just know that college football has a unique place in the world in the way it handles its regular season and the fan passion that it engenders. Whatever the final decision is, let’s just do our best to protect that.

Eric Kasimov:

You just said the word “protect,” so it made me think of something you referenced off the top: the Protect College Sports Act.

That’s an ongoing thing, a moving target. The rules are changing, and we don’t know where this is going to end up. Are you looking at it like, “Whatever happens, we’ll react, and we’re well-suited to take care of those things”? What comes to mind for you when I bring all that up?

David Epps:

You almost answered my question. We’re flexible. We are going to be prepared — not just the Peach Bowl organization and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl itself, but the city of Atlanta and everybody who comes together to put on these big events. We know that we’ve got to be flexible, and we’ve got to be willing to evolve with the game.

So we’re prepared to do whatever the college football enterprise needs. I think that’s got to be our approach, and really everybody in college football right now has to be thinking that way.

You can either fight the change, or you can realize that the evolution is going to happen and figure out how you make sure that you’re a part of it and you’re supporting it.

Eric Kasimov:

There’s a lot at play here. The SEC and Big Ten carry a lot of weight. You’re also in ACC country, and the Peach Bowl is in UGA’s backyard.

Nationally, there’s a feeling from fans that there’s bias — ESPN toward the SEC because of the media deals, for example. I’m not saying the Peach Bowl, but being where you are, obviously it would be great if Georgia or Alabama were in your game because their fans are just a few-hour drive away. College football is very tribal, and geography matters.

Do you feel that? Do you hear that? Or is that mostly a fan conversation that doesn’t really affect how you operate?

Geography, Fan Travel, and CFP Selection

David Epps:

The geography of college football is really important. One of the things that first the BCS did, and now the CFP has done — college football really used to be a regional game, and the national playoff has turned it into a national game. That inevitably creates some challenges with fans and fan bases, who goes where, and how often they can travel.

We’re really lucky that we’re in a city in a position where 80% of the U.S. can reach us with a two-hour flight. You could certainly look at it and say it’s great to have local or regional teams. But since we’ve gotten into the CFP, it’s amazing when you think about the fact that we’ve had Washington, Arizona State, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Texas. We hadn’t had a team from Texas in 40 years, and now we’ve had three.

We’re fortunate that we’re an easy-to-reach city no matter where you are. But one of the things that’s new about the CFP this year is that they’re going to give the top team, the number-one-ranked and seeded team, the chance to pick its own semifinal and quarterfinal game. That tells you a little bit about how ultimately important it is if the geography can be beneficial to a team and a fan base.

Eric Kasimov:

With all the different groups we’ve mentioned — athletic directors, universities, sponsors, broadcasters, athletes, fans, media like us — everyone wants something different. We all want what’s best for us, and sometimes that conflicts with what someone else wants.

How do you identify whose future you’re optimizing for? If ESPN, the conferences, and athletic directors all want something different, how do you decide as CEO which direction to go, knowing not everyone is going to love it?

David Epps:

Fortunately, I think we’re in a position where it would be very infrequent for us to have to choose between those competing constituencies. We’re a CFP bowl game, so it’s pretty easy to see that we’re going to get aligned with the CFP. That also means that we’re typically going to end up aligned with whatever ESPN is doing.

I don’t see us being in a position where we really have to make a distinction where we’re going to disappoint one group but help another, because I really believe that we’re all trying to come up with something that allows college football to continue to survive and thrive.

I’m an optimist who believes that everybody around the table wants to get to the same place. There might be a few speed bumps along the way, but I don’t see us being in a position to be one of those speed bumps or to throw up one of those speed bumps.

Eric Kasimov:

That makes sense. When the committee is going through it at the end of the year, it ties a little bit into how fans think. The committee’s making decisions. Is there any sort of conversation that they’re having with you or other bowl games to say this team, that team?

Not for you to make a decision — you obviously don’t have a vote in it — but are there conversations happening behind the scenes about placement or signaling or anything like that, or not at all?

David Epps:

Not at all. People would love to think that we’ve got some red hotline phone to the CFP. We literally find out who’s going to play in our game at the same time the rest of the world does. We’re sitting there watching the ESPN selection show.

Whether we have an idea because we’re speculating is completely different from whether we find out ahead of time. We don’t. We sit there, we wait, and we get excited when we see the logo pop up.

Eric Kasimov:

It’s important because there are message boards — I’m sure you hear about it — fans talking, text messages, what have you, and people think they’ve got it all figured out. Of course Georgia’s going to the Peach Bowl because that’s what the Peach Bowl wanted, right? All that kind of thing becomes public fact, even though you just found out about it.

Player Control, Fan Trust, and College Football’s Chaos

Eric Kasimov:

One of the things we see quite a bit now, especially around the Protect College Sports Act and the transfer portal, is the fluidity of a player. In a lot of ways that’s good for the player because they never had this kind of choice before. But it’s also shifted some control toward athletes and their people.

Do you sense that institutions are trying to take some of that control back? Programs need to know what their rosters are going to look like, and now you almost need an NFL general manager to manage these things. Is that concerning to you at all? Does any of that ring a bell for you?

David Epps:

If I was an athletic director, I’d be worrying about that every day. I think where we sit, we’re not. Like I said earlier, we’re just here. As a fan, you may have an opinion about something, but as the CEO of the Peach Bowl organization, I’m sitting here just anxious for things to get resolved. Whatever happens, we’re going to continue to serve those five or six groups that I mentioned.

I always like to believe that you waste time worrying about things that you can’t control. Right now that’s beyond our control. So when the folks in the room who are making all those decisions settle on what they think is best for all of us, then we’re ready to deliver.

Eric Kasimov:

There’s a lot to be said. For a time, people were upset about teams coming out of nowhere through the transfer portal and thought maybe people wouldn’t watch. That turned out not to be true at all. The games are entertaining, and people are watching.

But you run a risk at any level if you lose that connection with the fans and they stop showing up or stop watching. I don’t sense that’s happening, but at what point is there a threshold where the fan says, “I’m done. I’ve had enough”?

You’re going to deal with whatever happens, but what comes to mind for you when it relates to that trust? Is there anything there that might not be a problem today, but could wake you up in the middle of the night?

David Epps:

I think the uncertainty and the concern people have is sort of what I mentioned earlier: Are we going to make decisions that ultimately harm the game that we all love so much?

I think you hit on the right word. We as a bowl game get to create trust with the people who come to our games. But it’s interesting: College football has never been in more turmoil or more chaos, and yet it’s also never been more popular.

The ratings have never been higher. I don’t think it’s ever made as much money. So you hit on an important balance: making sure that we as an industry find solutions before there’s any kind of a disconnect between the fans and the game.

But people love their schools. You’ve always heard people cheer for the name on the front of the jersey and not the back of the jersey. Even with NIL, if you’re a Buckeye, it’s going to be hard to separate a Buckeye from being a Buckeye.

Eric Kasimov:

Same thing with a—

David Epps:

Longhorn, a Bruin, and a Bulldog.

Sports Betting and the Integrity of the Game

Eric Kasimov:

You’re in Georgia, where sports betting’s not legalized, yet you host marquee matchups that are being bet on across the country. Betting can also increase fan interest because people have some skin in the game.

How are you all thinking about that? Especially in college sports, these are still young people, and there are obvious integrity concerns as betting becomes more prevalent. It’s a big topic, it’s not going anywhere, and these companies are sponsoring a lot of sports properties. What comes into play for you guys, especially being in a state where it’s not legalized, at least yet?

David Epps:

I don’t know that I have an opinion on that. When it becomes an issue in the state of Georgia and it becomes legalized here, then — certainly, we’ve kept our eye on what’s happening in the industry and how prevalent sports betting has become. But it hasn’t touched us.

We’ll have to be prepared when it does. Right now, I know everybody who does deal with it just wants to protect the integrity of the game.

Making Neutral-Site Football Feel Like College Football

Eric Kasimov:

Going back to the game coming up with Auburn, to understand it a little bit better: There’s a certain number of players that Auburn chooses who can then have a third-party sponsorship, but they have to do something for that, right? Is that right? You can explain to me how this is going to work, how those decisions are made, and who the companies are that are involved.

David Epps:

That’s exactly right. In essence, a school like Auburn knows which players they have on their rosters, and they know how much NIL money may be guaranteed or promised to that particular player.

So they identified for us who we could utilize to do those promotions. Then, for the most part, it’s actually us, the organizers of the game, who decide. Byrum Brown, their QB1, we may take him and record a radio commercial that’s helping to drive ticket sales, and we might also do a billboard featuring him.

The schools determine which athletes are in the pool for us to draw from.

Eric Kasimov:

Okay. Then you make those selections, and you have different third-party companies, maybe Aflac or other companies along those lines, that also get involved at that point?

David Epps:

No. Right now, this is really everything we as the event organizers are doing. But there is an opportunity that if one of our sponsors wanted to come in and do the same thing, this certainly opens the door for it.

The vast majority of what we’re doing is — the Aflac Kickoff Game, and that’s not Aflac, that’s us, the organizers. We’re the ones who are doing the NIL with the players.

Eric Kasimov:

Do you foresee games like this taking place more during the season? You sort of referenced this before, but could it get to conference games or things like that where UGA calls up and says, “Hey, we’d love to do this opportunity with you. How much money can you bring to the table?”

Does that open the door to negotiate with other teams, whether it’s a conference game or another nonconference game?

David Epps:

Our experience — we’ve been doing this game since 2008 — is that typically schools prefer doing neutral-site games at the beginning of the season. One, they’re not in their conference schedules yet. Two, it gives them a chance, if they’re playing a nonconference opponent, to either get a good win or, if they take a loss, to make up for it over the course of the season.

I could see this influencing whether a team wants to come play in our kickoff. I don’t know that that’s going to necessarily influence whether teams are willing to take a game out of their home stadium in the middle of the season or not.

Eric Kasimov:

I would imagine that, because they make a lot of money on campus, especially an Auburn or, as you mentioned, Ohio State. They’re selling out those stadiums. It doesn’t matter who they’re playing against, most likely.

But I would imagine it’s still a net gain for Auburn to participate in this. Is that correct?

David Epps:

Obviously, a team would not play in one of the neutral-site games if there wasn’t a financial benefit for them. That’s what we as the hosts have to do: make it appealing enough that there’s a reason for a school to come to Atlanta.

There are a number of reasons. The NIL package is part of it. But these are tougher and tougher to put these matchups together because schools are making more and more investments in their home experience. They’re building out premium seating opportunities.

It’s part of the changing landscape right now of college football: Do coaches, do athletic directors, do fans want to go to a neutral site as often, or would they rather just stay at home?

Eric Kasimov:

It’s a good point, because one thing people sometimes worry about with neutral-site games is losing the pageantry. You’re not on a college campus anymore; you’re in an NFL stadium in a big city. It’s a different feeling.

That’s something you all have to keep in mind. What are you thinking about to make sure the fan still walks away saying, “Yeah, I just attended a college football game, and wow, that was something”?

David Epps:

For our Aflac Kickoff Game, we think of it almost as a bowl game at the beginning of the season. So in terms of pageantry, in terms of fan experience, we’re very much focused on that.

We want people to walk away feeling like they got their money’s worth. Also, when you come to one of our neutral-site games, you’re going to see that we try to integrate home traditions. Some of the things that teams might do in their home stadiums, we try to give them a chance to replicate that during our game.

We’ve got a big fan event before the game. We’re focused on making sure that there still is that pageantry — that if the teams are available to do a pregame team walk, we’re still doing that; that the marching bands still get to play.

We don’t disregard it and try to make it an antiseptic experience. We try to make it feel as much like a home game as we can.

Eric Kasimov:

I want to respect your time. I could keep asking questions all the time. Is there anything specific that I haven’t asked, we haven’t talked about, or something that you want to make sure that you cover?

David Epps:

No, I think you’ve asked all the relevant questions. For us, we’re just excited about this matchup. Aflac’s been a really great partner of ours, and we call this game a Kickoff for a Cause because we’re trying to raise money and awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is September.

That’s an important part of why we do what we do that we didn’t talk about. Other than that, we’re just excited about the chance to kick off the year. We know it’s going to be a huge crowd, and we’re looking forward to having a ton of fans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 5.

Eric Kasimov:

I think it makes sense, too. Like you said, there’s a lot more coming from an event like this than who wins and loses — compensation for athletes, value for the universities and fans, and the foundations you support. I think that’s huge. I always say sports bring people together, and that’s a lot of what this has done.

I’m fascinated by, and our team’s fascinated by, the architecture of sports — how something like this even comes to be and how we can talk about it. We’d love to continue covering not only the Peach Bowl and what you’re working on, but this specific game and anything else that comes to mind. We’d be happy to share stories around it, talk to people who are relevant, or circle back with you.

David Epps:

We’re happy to connect anytime you need to.

SportsEpreneur Newsletter

SportsEpreneur covers the business behind sports—NIL, media, leagues, athletes, events, and the people making the decisions. Join the SportsEpreneur newsletter for future reporting and conversations.

Related SportsEpreneur Coverage

NIL Rules in 2026: Updated Guide for Athletes, Families, and Coaches

College Football Business

Who Protects College Athletes? | M. Duane Miller, The Texas NIL Lawyer

Does ESPN Control the College Football Playoff?