The Cotton Bowl Classic is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually since January 1, 1937. Between 1937 and 2009, the game was played at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas; in 2010, it moved to Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington. Historically, the game hosted the champion of the Southwest Conference (SWC); after that conference's dissolution in 1996, the game hosted a team from the Big 12 Conference, usually against a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Cotton Bowl Classic has served as one of six bowls in the College Football Playoff (CFP) since the 2014 season.

The 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic is a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 80th Cotton Bowl Classic is a College Football Playoff semifinal with the winner of this game competing against the winner of the 2015 Orange Bowl in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, which will take place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It will be one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio. It is sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and is officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.