Oregon AD Rob Mullens named CFP Chairman

Oregon’s Athletic Director, Rob Mullens has been named the college football playoff selection committee chairman. He replaces outgoing chairman and Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt. The chairman role have been two year terms served by Hocutt and his predecessor, former Arkansas AD Jeff Long.

In addition to Mullens being selected for the prestigious role, the Committee announced that six new members would be joining him in their debuts. Three of the six have Pac-12 ties. They are as follows:

Paola Boivin - A 20 year veteran reporter that worked for the Arizona Star who now works for Arizona State’s journalism school. Member of the Arizona sports HOF.

Ken Hatfield - Former head coach

Ronnie Lott- The former all everything safety for the USC Trojans and San Francisco 49ers. One of the few elite players that has been elected to both the Pro Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.

Todd Stansbury - Current AD at Georgia Tech. Former AD at UCF and Oregon State.

Scott Stricklin - Current AD at Florida. Best known for his work at Mississippi State, hiring Dan Mullen, who followed him to Florida this offseason.

Joe Castiglione - Current AD at Oklahoma. He’s probably the most successful AD of the modern era of college sports.

Here is some more background information on the new Commitee members

What does the chairman do?

Mullens will preside over the weekly Committee meetings that occur every Tuesday, starting in October. The Committee decides the weekly top 25 rankings every week until the first December Sunday after conference title games are held when the top four teams in the land are revealed.

If/when Oregon is discussed within the meeting, by rule, Mullens must recuse himself as they do not want any source of bias influencing the proceedings. The same goes for any respective committee member employed by his or her university.

Mr. Mullens will be on ESPN every Tuesday after the rankings are revealed to justify and explain the reasoning for the rankings.

What does it mean for Oregon?

Congratulations, Rob! I’m sure it will be most unenviable task he’s had to endure. I’m also positive that he will make a great chairman. It’s a prestigious honor that will put Oregon in a very positive light. By all accounts, he is a great representative of the university.