College Football Playoff Selection Committee Prepares for 2021-22 Season
The College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee met this week in preparation for the upcoming season.
"It was good to have the full group together for the first time this year and to review all of our procedures in detail,” said Gary Barta, Athletics Director at the University of Iowa, who will be returning for his second year as committee chair. “We feel good about the process the committee has followed during the first seven years of the College Football Playoff, and the selection committee is looking forward to the start of our eighth season.”
The selection committee reviewed the schedule for its weekly ranking announcements, went over its protocol and finalized its list of members who will be recused from voting or discussions regarding selected teams.
The selection committee will announce its first of six rankings November 2. The committee members will convene in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, revealing their rankings each week on ESPN.
The final selection committee rankings of the 2021 season will be released on selection day, Sunday, December 5. The committee will also announce the matchups for the Playoff Semifinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Capital One Orange Bowl, as well as the PlayStation Fiesta and Chick-fil-A Peach bowl pairings.
Below is a complete schedule for the selection committee to announce its rankings on ESPN:
Tuesday, November 2 - 7 - 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, November 9 - 9 - 9:30 p.m. ET*
Tuesday, November 16 - 7 - 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, November 23 - 7 - 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, November 30 - 7 - 7:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, December 5 (selection day) - Noon - 4 p.m. ET
*Approximate start time will be 9 p.m. ET live between games during the State Farm Champions Classic doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.
The selection committee recusal policy remains consistent with the first seven years of the CFP, stating that:
"If a committee member or an immediate family member, e.g., spouse, sibling or child, (a) is compensated by a school, (b) provides professional services for a school, or (c) is on the coaching staff or administrative staff at a school or is a football student-athlete at a school, that member will be recused. Such compensation shall include not only direct employment, but also current paid consulting arrangements, deferred compensation (e.g., contract payments continuing after employment has ended, or other benefits. The committee will have the option to add other recusals if special circumstances arise.
"A recused member shall not participate in any votes involving the team from which the individual is recused. A recused member is permitted to answer only factual questions about the institution from which the member is recused but shall not be present during any deliberations regarding that team's selection or ranking. Recused members shall not participate in discussions regarding the placement of the recused team into a bowl game.”
Recusals for the 2021-22 football season are as follows:
Arizona State
Paola Boivin
Colorado
Rick George
Georgia State
Charlie Cobb
Iowa
Gary Barta
Kansas State
Gene Taylor
Kentucky
Mitch Barnhart
NC State
Boo Corrigan
Notre Dame
Rod West
Ohio
Charlie Cobb
Stanford
Tyrone Willingham
Wyoming
Tom Burman
The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games, 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. The current selection committee members are Mitch Barnhart (athletics director, University of Kentucky), Gary Barta (athletics director, University of Iowa) (Chair), Paola Boivin (professor, Arizona State University), Tom Burman (athletics director, University of Wyoming), Charlie Cobb (athletics director, Georgia State University), Boo Corrigan (athletics director, North Carolina State University), Rick George (athletics director, University of Colorado), Will Shields (former All-American offensive lineman, University of Nebraska), Gene Taylor (athletics director, Kansas State University), Joe Taylor (Vice President for Athletics and Community Wellness, Virginia Union University), John Urschel (former All-American offensive lineman, Penn State University), Rod West (group president Entergy Corporation) and Tyrone Willingham (former head coach Stanford University, Notre Dame, University of Washington).
For additional information on the selection committee and its weekly rankings, and to view the selection committee protocol in its entirety, please visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.
About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, January 1, 2021, at the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.