All integrations

College Football Data

DATA · DATA & ANALYTICS

Games, drives, play-by-play, rankings, and recruiting, read-only.

Connecting College Football Data in practice

Access is metered per month rather than per second and billed through Patreon, so the free key is 1,000 calls for a whole month and live play-by-play does not appear until the $5 Tier 2. An agent that polls a game in progress spends a free key in one afternoon and then gets an entitlement response, not a rate-limit one.

Rate limits

  • Free key: 1,000 API calls per month.
  • Academic tier: 3,000 calls per month, and registration requires a .edu email address.
  • Tier 1 ($1/month): 5,000 calls per month, adds live scoreboard.
  • Tier 2 ($5/month): 30,000 calls per month, adds live play-by-play.
  • Tier 3 ($10/month): 75,000 calls per month, adds the GraphQL API.
  • Tier 4 ($15/month): 125,000 calls per month.
  • No per-second figure is published anywhere; the tiers are monthly call counts only.

Worth knowing

  • The key goes in an Authorization: Bearer header, and the docs point out that a missing space after "Bearer" is a common cause of 401.
  • Requests sent from the documentation playground count toward usage exactly like requests from any other client, so exploring the reference spends the same quota the agent needs.
  • Features are tier-gated rather than scope-gated: the same endpoint that answers on a Tier 3 key returns a quota or entitlement response on a free one, which is a different failure from a 404.
  • The legacy Swagger UI is still online during the transition to the new reference, so two documentation surfaces describe the same base URL at once.

Checked against CFBD getting started (2026-09-29), CFBD authentication (2026-09-29), CFBD usage and access (2026-09-29), CFBD API access tiers (2026-09-29)

Acts as the person, not as itself

Each user connects their own account. Every call carries both identities — the agent and the person it is acting for — so the agent can never reach past what that individual can already do.

Credentials never touch the agent

Tokens live in the vault and attach server-side at call time. The agent holds a session, not a secret, and revoking access does not mean rotating a key.

Every call on the record

Who asked, which agent acted, which action ran, and the verdict that let it through — one audit trail across every integration, not one per vendor.

What an agent can do

Each action is granted on its own. An agent allowed to read is not thereby allowed to write, and the scope beside each row is what the acting user must have connected for it to run at all.

collegefootballdata_get_calendarREAD

Returns the week-by-week season calendar.

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collegefootballdata_get_coachesREAD

Returns historical head coach records.

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collegefootballdata_get_coaches_profileREAD

Returns a coach profile with canonical identity and career totals.

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collegefootballdata_get_coaches_seasonsREAD

Returns coach-season records with attributed results and team context.

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collegefootballdata_get_coaches_tenuresREAD

Returns continuous head-coaching tenures and their attributed records.

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collegefootballdata_get_conferencesREAD

Returns conferences and member counts.

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collegefootballdata_get_conferences_affiliationsREAD

Returns historical team conference affiliations.

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collegefootballdata_get_conferences_changesREAD

Returns team conference changes by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_draft_picksREAD

Returns historical NFL Draft picks.

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collegefootballdata_get_draft_positionsREAD

Returns the player position categories used in NFL Draft data.

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collegefootballdata_get_draft_teamsREAD

Returns the NFL teams represented in draft data.

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collegefootballdata_get_drivesREAD

Returns historical drive data.

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collegefootballdata_get_game_box_advancedREAD

Returns an advanced box score for a game.

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collegefootballdata_get_gamesREAD

Returns historical game data.

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collegefootballdata_get_games_mediaREAD

Returns broadcast and media information for games.

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collegefootballdata_get_games_playersREAD

Returns player box score statistics by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_games_teamsREAD

Returns team box score statistics by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_games_weatherREAD

Returns historical and forecast weather data for games. Requires Patreon.

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collegefootballdata_get_infoREAD

Returns the authenticated user's Patreon level and remaining API calls. Returns `null` when the request is not authenticated.

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collegefootballdata_get_info_usageREAD

Returns recent usage for the authenticated user's shared CFB and CBB call pool. Returns `null` when the request is not authenticated.

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collegefootballdata_get_linesREAD

Returns historical betting lines and results.

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collegefootballdata_get_live_playsREAD

Returns live play-by-play data and advanced metrics for a game. Results may be cached for up to five seconds after calculation.

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collegefootballdata_get_metrics_fg_epREAD

Returns expected points values for field goal attempts.

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collegefootballdata_get_metrics_wpREAD

Returns play-by-play win probabilities for a game.

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collegefootballdata_get_metrics_wp_pregameREAD

Returns pregame win probabilities.

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collegefootballdata_get_passing_players_gamesREAD

Returns passer production, advanced metrics, and pass-location breakdowns by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_passing_players_seasonREAD

Returns passer production, advanced metrics, and pass-location breakdowns by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_passing_playsREAD

Returns enriched pass attempts with stored PPA, success, and location-analysis eligibility.

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collegefootballdata_get_passing_teams_gamesREAD

Returns team passing production, advanced metrics, and pass-location breakdowns by game for offense and defense.

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collegefootballdata_get_passing_teams_seasonREAD

Returns team passing production, advanced metrics, and pass-location breakdowns by season for offense and defense.

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collegefootballdata_get_player_portalREAD

Returns transfer portal entries for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_player_returningREAD

Returns returning production metrics by team and season.

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collegefootballdata_get_player_searchREAD

Returns up to 100 players whose names match the search term.

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collegefootballdata_get_player_season_overviewREAD

Returns a player season overview with box score, usage, and Predicted Points Added (PPA) data.

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collegefootballdata_get_player_usageREAD

Returns player usage metrics for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_playoffs_cfpREAD

Returns the complete College Football Playoff bracket for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_playoffs_cfp_gamesREAD

Returns College Football Playoff matchups for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_playoffs_cfp_participantsREAD

Returns College Football Playoff participants for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_playsREAD

Returns historical play-by-play data.

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collegefootballdata_get_plays_statsREAD

Returns player and play-stat associations, limited to 2,000 records.

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collegefootballdata_get_plays_stats_typesREAD

Returns the available play stat types.

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collegefootballdata_get_plays_typesREAD

Returns the available play types.

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collegefootballdata_get_ppa_gamesREAD

Returns team Predicted Points Added (PPA) metrics by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_ppa_players_gamesREAD

Returns player Predicted Points Added (PPA) metrics by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_ppa_players_seasonREAD

Returns player Predicted Points Added (PPA) metrics by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_ppa_predictedREAD

Returns predicted points values by down and distance.

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collegefootballdata_get_ppa_teamsREAD

Returns team Predicted Points Added (PPA) metrics by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_rankingsREAD

Returns historical poll rankings.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_coreREAD

Returns Context & Opponent-Relative Efficiency (CORE) ratings. At least one of `year` or `team` is required.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_eloREAD

Returns historical Elo ratings.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_fpiREAD

Returns historical Football Power Index (FPI) ratings.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_spREAD

Returns SP+ ratings by team and season.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_sp_conferencesREAD

Returns conference-level SP+ ratings by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_srsREAD

Returns Simple Rating System (SRS) ratings by team and season.

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collegefootballdata_get_ratings_srs_expandedREAD

Returns expanded Simple Rating System (SRS) ratings, including FCS teams.

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collegefootballdata_get_recordsREAD

Returns historical team records by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_recruiting_groupsREAD

Returns recruiting ratings aggregated by team and position group.

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collegefootballdata_get_recruiting_playersREAD

Returns player recruiting rankings.

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collegefootballdata_get_recruiting_teamsREAD

Returns team recruiting rankings.

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collegefootballdata_get_rosterREAD

Returns historical roster data.

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collegefootballdata_get_rushing_players_gamesREAD

Returns individually attributed rusher production by game. Player totals include only guarded rusher attribution, including individually attributed sacks. They do not include team-only or unresolved attempts and therefore are not expected to sum to team totals.

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collegefootballdata_get_rushing_players_seasonREAD

Returns individually attributed rusher production by season. Player totals include only guarded rusher attribution, including individually attributed sacks. They do not include team-only or unresolved attempts and therefore are not expected to sum to team totals.

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collegefootballdata_get_rushing_playsREAD

Returns enriched rushing attempts. Team results include sacks, kneels, team-only attempts, and unresolved attribution. Direction eligibility identifies the ordinary-rush analysis population; eligible attempts can still have an unknown direction.

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collegefootballdata_get_rushing_teams_gamesREAD

Returns team rushing production by game. Team totals include sacks, kneels, team-only attempts, and unresolved attribution. Defense contains rushing production allowed.

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collegefootballdata_get_rushing_teams_seasonREAD

Returns team rushing production by season. Team totals include sacks, kneels, team-only attempts, and unresolved attribution. Defense contains rushing production allowed.

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collegefootballdata_get_scoreboardREAD

Returns current scoreboard data.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_categoriesREAD

Returns the available team statistical categories.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_game_advancedREAD

Returns advanced team statistics aggregated by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_game_havocREAD

Returns team havoc statistics aggregated by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_player_seasonREAD

Returns player statistics aggregated by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_player_successREAD

Returns player passing and rushing success rates by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_player_success_gameREAD

Returns player passing and rushing success rates by game.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_seasonREAD

Returns team statistics aggregated by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_stats_season_advancedREAD

Returns advanced team statistics aggregated by season.

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collegefootballdata_get_talentREAD

Returns 247Sports Team Talent Composite ratings for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_teamsREAD

Returns team information and conference affiliations.

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collegefootballdata_get_teams_atsREAD

Returns against-the-spread (ATS) records by team.

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collegefootballdata_get_teams_fbsREAD

Returns Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams for a season.

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collegefootballdata_get_teams_matchupREAD

Returns historical matchup results between two teams.

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collegefootballdata_get_venuesREAD

Returns college football venues.

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collegefootballdata_get_wepa_players_kickingREAD

Returns Points Added Above Replacement (PAAR) ratings for kickers.

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collegefootballdata_get_wepa_players_passingREAD

Returns opponent-adjusted player passing metrics.

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collegefootballdata_get_wepa_players_rushingREAD

Returns opponent-adjusted player rushing metrics.

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collegefootballdata_get_wepa_team_seasonREAD

Returns opponent-adjusted team statistics by season.

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Put College Football Data behind one governed endpoint.

Same permissions, same audit trail, whatever else you connect next.