FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek was appointed to the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee by the CFP Management Committee, CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock announced on Thursday.
Arkansas has now had three members with ties to the UA on the CFP Selection Committee. Former Director of Athletics Jeff Long was the inaugural chair of the CFP Selection Committee and served on the committee from 2014-17. Former Razorback football student-athlete and head coach Ken Hatfield also served on the CFP Selection Committee from 2018-20.
“It is truly an honor that the CFP Management Committee has appointed me to serve on the selection committee, especially at such a transformational time in the history of college football and the playoff,” Yurachek told Arkansas Communications. “As an athletics director at three institutions and the father of three sons who have participated in college football, I am keenly aware of the tremendous passion for college football as well as the opportunities afforded to student-athletes through college football. As we all enter this new era, I look forward to working alongside my fellow selection committee members to continue to foster the growth of this wonderful game.”
Yurachek agreed to a three-year deal to serve on the 13-person selection committee. The expanded 12-team CFP playoff is set to debut following the 2024 regular season. Michigan Athletics Director Warde Manuel was also newly appointed to serve as selection committee chair.
Now in his seventh year at the University of Arkansas, Yurachek has led Arkansas to three-consecutive top-15 Directors’ Cup finishes, after earning only one top-15 finish in the first 24 years of the competition.
Arkansas has won 33 SEC Championships in the past six years, including 25 conference titles in the past four years under Yurachek's leadership. Both marks lead all SEC programs and the Razorbacks’ 33 titles equal to seven other league programs combined in that same timeframe.
Yurachek has previously served in a number of NCAA and conference leadership roles. Yurachek was named to the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, a role he has held since 2021, after previously serving on the Football Competition Committee. He is the only conference athletics director currently serving on the SEC Executive Committee, which approves the annual operating budget and oversees all financial and fiscal affairs of the conference.
Prior to coming to Arkansas, Yurachek served as director of athletics at both Coastal Carolina University and the University of Houston. Yurachek has also held various athletics administration leadership positions at the University of Akron, University of Virginia, Western Carolina University, Vanderbilt University and Wake Forest University.
Six new members were appointed to the CFP Selection Committee. Patrick Chun, athletics director at Washington State, Randall McDaniel, former All-American defensive lineman from Arizona State, Gary Pinkel, longtime head coach at Toledo and Missouri, Mack Rhodes, athletics director at Baylor and Carla Williams, athletics director at Virginia were also appointed to serve on the committee beginning in the 2024 season.
All new members will begin three-year terms starting this spring. They will replace Mitch Barnhart, Boo Corrigan, Mark Harlan, Gene Taylor and Joe West, whose terms have expired.
“The additions of Pat, Randall, Gary, Mack, Carla and Hunter will bring some great new voices to the selection committee as we enter our 11th season,” CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said. “Their knowledge, passion and character, along with their understanding of college football, will allow them to make the transition seamlessly with the returning members.”
The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting the 12 teams in the playoff and assigning them to the playoff bracket, as well as ranking the other top-25 teams. The committee meets in-person beginning late in the football season and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week leading up to its final selections.
Returning members of the CFP Selection Committee include: Chris Ault, longtime head coach and athletics director at the University of Nevada; Chet Gladchuk, athletics director at the U.S. Naval Academy; Jim Grobe, longtime head coach at Ohio University, Wake Forest and Baylor; Manuel; David Sayler, athletics director at Miami University (OH); Will Shields, former All-American at Nebraska; and Kelly Whiteside, longtime sportswriter for USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday.
Some information from this story was provided by Arkansas Communications.
