cfb-data

College Football Data (CFB)

Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, conference IDs, team IDs, and data shapes.

Setup

Before first use, check if the CLI is available:

which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills

If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:

python3 --version  # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills

No API keys required.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills cfb get_scoreboard
sports-skills cfb get_rankings
sports-skills cfb get_standings --group=8

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:

• Season year is derived from the system prompt's currentDate — never hardcoded.
• For standings, the group parameter is set to the correct conference ID (see references/api-reference.md).
• If only a team name is provided, use get_teams to resolve the team ID.

Choosing the Season

Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-28 → current year is 2026).

• If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
• If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The CFB season runs August–January. If the current month is February–July (offseason), use season = current_year - 1. From August onward, use the current year.

Important: College vs. Pro Differences

• Standings are per-conference — use the group parameter to filter
• Rankings replace leaders — college uses AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings
• Ranked teams have a rank field (null = unranked) on scoreboard competitors
• Week-based schedule — like NFL, college football uses week numbers

Commands

See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.

Official NCAA Backend

The get_ncaa_* commands read the NCAA's own endpoints (sdataprod.ncaa.com + ncaa.com) — coverage ESPN does not carry:

• FCS scoreboards via division="fcs" — ESPN's college coverage is

FBS-centric.

• Official game detail: get_ncaa_game, get_ncaa_boxscore,

get_ncaa_play_by_play (with drive context), get_ncaa_scoring_summary.

• The schools index (~1,200 schools, all divisions): get_ncaa_schools.

NCAA game ids (e.g. 6306261, from get_ncaa_scoreboard) and ESPN event ids share nothing — join on game date plus team names. NCAA reissues game ids, so take them from a fresh get_ncaa_scoreboard call rather than storing them. Football divisions are fbs/fcs (not d1-d3). get_ncaa_schedule numbers the weeks get_ncaa_scoreboard takes (16+ are the postseason, FCS playoffs included). Scoring-summary field goals carry distance_yards, taken from the play-by-play. All get_ncaa_* commands except get_ncaa_schools ride NCAA's GraphQL persisted queries, whose hashes rotate when ncaa.com redeploys; when that happens they say so explicitly, and the ESPN-backed get_scoreboard / get_schedule cover the same FBS games.

Examples

Example 1: Current rankings User says: "What are the college football rankings?" Actions:

1. Call get_rankings()

Result: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings with rank, previous rank, record

Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me SEC football standings" Actions:

1. Derive season year from currentDate
2. Call get_standings(group=8, season=<derived_year>) (group 8 = SEC)

Result: SEC standings with W-L records per team

Example 3: Team schedule User says: "What's Alabama's schedule this season?" Actions:

1. Derive season year from currentDate
2. Call get_team_schedule(team_id="333", season=<derived_year>)

Result: Alabama's full season schedule with opponent, date, score (if played)

Example 4: Weekly scores User says: "Show me this week's college football scores" Actions:

1. Call get_scoreboard()

Result: All live and recent CFB games with scores and ranked status

Example 5: Heisman favorites User says: "Who's the Heisman favorite?" Actions:

1. Call get_futures(limit=10)

Result: Top Heisman Trophy candidates with odds values

Example 6: Team statistics User says: "Show me Alabama's team stats" Actions:

1. Derive season year from currentDate
2. Call get_team_stats(team_id="333", season_year=<derived_year>)

Result: Alabama's season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages

Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these

• ~~get_odds~~ / ~~get_betting_odds~~ — not available. For prediction market odds, use the polymarket or kalshi skill.
• ~~search_teams~~ — does not exist. Use get_teams instead.
• ~~get_box_score~~ — does not exist. Use get_game_summary instead.
• ~~get_player_ratings~~ — does not exist. Use get_player_stats instead.
• ~~get_bcs_rankings~~ / ~~get_playoff_rankings~~ — does not exist. Use get_rankings instead.

If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.

Error Handling

When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:

1. If no events found for a date, check if it's in the off-season (CFB runs August–January)
2. If standings are empty without a group filter, try with a specific conference group
3. Only report failure with a clean message after exhausting alternatives

Troubleshooting

Error: sports-skills command not found Cause: Package not installed Solution: Run pip install sports-skills

Error: No games found Cause: CFB is seasonal (August–January); off-season scoreboard will be empty Solution: Use get_rankings or get_news year-round; use get_schedule to find when the season starts

Error: Too many teams returned Cause: get_teams returns 750+ FBS teams Solution: Help users narrow down by suggesting specific team IDs from references/api-reference.md, or use ESPN URLs to look up IDs

Error: Rankings empty in off-season Cause: Rankings are only published during the season and early off-season Solution: Use get_news in the offseason; rankings resume in August