The College Football Playoff Selection Committee comes to the fore for the final six weeks of the college football season, emerging from the shadows in late October/early November to deliver their damning or victorious verdict on your favorite team.
This clandestine crew holds the power to make or break the dreams of college football programs as they pick apart all 134 teams to determine the best 25 in the nation. For the first time ever, in 2024, they’ll also determine the 12 teams who take part in the expanded postseason tournament. Who is on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee? Let’s find out.
Who Are the College Football Playoff Committee Members?
There are 13 members of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, listed below with their area of expertise in the field of college football and the expiration of the term.
- Mike Riley
Former Oregon State and Nebraska head coach, February 2027 - Randall McDaniel
Former Arizona State player, February 2027 - Gary Pinkel
Former Toledo and Missouri head coach, February 2027 - Mack Rhoades
Baylor Athletic Director, February 2027 - Hunter Yurachek
Arkansas Athletic Director, February 2027 - Carla Williams
Virginia Athletic Director, February 2027 - Chris Ault
Nevada Athletic Director, February 2026 - Chet Gladchuk
Navy Athletic Director, February 2025 - Jim Grobe
Former coach, February 2025 - Warde Manuel
Michigan Athletic Director, February 2025 - David Sayler,
Miami (OH) Athletic Director, February 2026 - Will Shields
Former Nebraska player, February 2025 - Kelly Whiteside
Former college football reporter for multiple outlets, February 2025
The initial CFP Selection Committee Protocol deemed that these members would be football experts tasked with upholding the principles and working toward the guiding principles that decide the College Football Playoff rankings.
The first College Football Playoff Committee members were announced in October 2013. Since then, members serve a three-year term (although there have been some exceptions).
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This creates a rotation of members with varying expertise in college football. These consist of former coaches and players, current athletic directors, and retired media members. The final 13 College Football Playoff Selection Committee members are selected from a list of over 100 candidates submitted by conference commissioners.
The College Football Playoff Committee aims to avoid any potential conflict of interest caused by current athletic directors serving on the committee by removing athletic directors from being directly involved in the discussions that relate specifically to their teams.
Who’s the Head of the Committee?
The current head of the committee — and the face of public revulsion over perceived playoff slights — is Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel. The man who helped guide the Wolverines to the 2024 College Football National Championship replaced Boo Corrigan in Feb. 2024.
While the 13 members of the College Football Playoff Committee are all involved in the decision-making process, Manual is the elected chairperson responsible for publicly explaining the committee’s decisions to the media and the general public.
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As the head of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, Manual takes part in a cross-examination on the weekly College Football Playoff show, answering questions about how the committee came to certain decisions and explaining what might be considered egregious exclusions from the rankings.
Furthermore, Manual also has to participate in a post-rankings reveal media teleconference.
While the head of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee isn’t always popular among college football fans or even some of the 134 member schools, Manual has an extremely successful college football résumé.
During his eight seasons overseeing football operations in Ann Arbor, Michigan has become one of the consistently competitive teams in college football.
Although he has been the Michigan Athletic Director since 2017, his ties to the program date back to his time as a Wolverine student-athlete. Manual also worked in various roles in Ann Arbor before leaving for the State University of New York in 2005. The head of the selection committee also spent four seasons as the University of Connecticut Athletic Director.
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