CFP committee ready for ‘heat’

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, said the work of the committee will “be difficult but rewarding.”
Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, said the work of the committee will “be difficult but rewarding.”

The most scrutinized committee in sports has been set.

The members say they’ll need thick skin, plenty of time and the ability to leave their loyalties behind to pick the four teams that will play for college football’s national title next year.

They say they are ready for the pressure, too.

“I think I’ve experienced plenty of heat in my life,” said Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State who was among the 13 members officially introduced Wednesday as part of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long will serve as chairman of the committee that will decide the four teams that advance to the College Football Playoff in 2014.

“Our work will be difficult but rewarding at the same time,” Long said. “We have important judgments to make during that process. We realize we represent all of college football.”

Other members include former Nebraska coach and athletic director Tom Osborne; College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning; Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez; Southern California Athletic Director Pat Haden; West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck; Clemson Athletic Director Dan Radakovich; Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the former superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy; former NCAA executive vice president Tom Jernstedt; former Big East Conference commissioner Mike Tranghese; Tyrone Willingham, the former head coach of Notre Dame, Stanford and Washington; and former USA Today college football reporter Steve Wieberg.

The College Football Playoff will replace the Bowl Championship Series. The selection committee will work similarly to the one that picks teams for the NCAA basketball tournament, although instead of 68 teams it will choose and seed only four to play in the semifinals.

The winners of those games, played on a rotating basis at six bowl sites, will meet a week later for the national championship.

“The charge is simple,” Long said. “It’s to determine the best teams in college football and seed them to play each other. I think this group is up to the task.”

Rice was a surprising pick to be part of the committee because she has never worked directly in college athletics, although when she was provost at Stanford the athletic department was under her supervision and she hired Willingham as the university’s football coach.

“What I can hopefully bring to this committee is critical judgment and the willingness to work real hard … to put the best four teams on the field,” said Rice, who described herself as a “student of the game.”

Rice said Pacific-12 Commissioner Larry Scott approached her about being part of the committee.

“Condi definitely earned her spot on this committee,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the BCS. “Obviously, part of this is going to be the ability to make judgments under scrutiny, and Condi has that.”

Rice is the only woman on the committee and some, such as former Auburn coach Pat Dye and former Georgia defensive end and ESPN analyst David Pollack, have said they would prefer only those who have played football to be on the committee.

Rice said that while she respects people who have different views, she is more more concerned about making sure the committee makes good judgements.

“I don’t feel I’m carrying the banner for anyone except those of us who love college football,” Rice said.

Hancock said term limits for committee members will eventually be three years, but that will not be the case for all the current members because they do not want to replace the entire committee at once.

Long said the committee likely will release four or five Top 25 rankings during the season, starting around midseason, before the final decisions are made at the end of the regular season.

Hancock said committee members will be allowed to examine whatever data they believe is relevant.

“No one single metric will be identified as paramount over all other data,” he said.

Committee members also will recuse themselves when a team they have a direct relationship with comes up in meetings.

“We represent all of college football,” Long said. “In this task, we do not represent any one school, conference or region. Each of us will represent college football in its totality.

“When we serve on this committee, we’re expected to check our loyalties and affiliations at the door.”

Playoff selection committee

Members of the College Football Playoff selection committee for 2014:

CHAIRMAN

NAME POSITION

Jeff Long Arkansas athletic director

OTHER MEMBERS

NAME POSITION

Barry Alvarez Wisconsin athletic director

Pat Haden Southern Cal athletic director

Oliver Luck West Virginia athletic director

Dan Radakovich Clemson athletic director

Tom Jernstedt former NCAA executive vice president

Tom Osborne former coach/AD at Nebraska

Mike Tranghese former Big East commissioner

Archie Manning former Ole Miss/NFL QB

Tyrone Willingham former coach (Notre Dame, Stanford, Washington)

Lt. Gen. Mike Gould former superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy

Condoleezza Rice former U.S. Secretary of State

Steve Wieberg former USA Today college football reporter

Sports, Pages 17 on 10/17/2013

Upcoming Events