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This is the year of the playoff. The BCS has died and gone away. Now instead of objective computers mixed with subjective polls, we have moved to a group of people who will subjectively select the four best teams in the country, based on their opinion. It will certainly not end all the debate and bellyaching at the end of the season as coaches and fans state their case for why their team should be included over a different team. Will it be better? We don’t know yet. Let’s take a look at who will be making the decisions.
COMMITTEE MEMEBERS:
Jeff Long – Chairman
Barry Alvarez – AD Wisconsin
Lieutenant General Mike Gould – Former Superintendent Air Force Academy
Pat Haden – AD University of Southern California
Tom Jernstedt- Former NCAA Executive Vice President
Oliver Luck – AD West Virginia
Archie Manning – Legend
Tom Osborne – Also Legend
Dan Radakovich – AD Clemson
Condoleezza Rice – Stanford Professor, Former Secretary of State
Mike Tranghese – Former Big East Commissioner
Steve Weiberg – Former USA Today CFB writer
Tyrone Willingham – Former Head Coach
This week we are going to double up and take a look at Lieutenant General Mike Gould and Pat Haden.
Lieutenant General Mike Gould, Former Superintendent Air Force Academy
LT GEN Gould was a highly decorated member of the United States Air Force, receiving numerous medals including: Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He played football at the United States Air Force Academy from 1973 to 1976 and stayed on for the 1976-1977 season as an assistant coach. He returned to the Air Force Academy in 1981 as the head prep-school football coach among other coaching duties. In 1990, he became the Air Force aide to the President and remained in that role until 1992. From 1995 to 1996 Gould was the Commander of the 97 Operations Group at McGuire AFB in New Jersey. From there he moved to McConnell AFB in Kansas as the Commander of the 22 Air Refueling Wing from 1997-1998. During that time he also served as the Senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force. In 1998 Gould became the Commander of the 97 Mobility Wing at Altus AFB in Oklahoma, remaining at that post until 2000. His next position was as Commander of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center from 2000 to 2002. In 2004 he became the Deputy Commander of the 3rd Air Force for the Royal Air Force in Mildenhall, England. From there Gould became the Commander of the 2nd Air Force at Kessler AFB from 2005 to 2008. His next post was as the Director of operations and plans for the U.S. Transportation Command at Scott AFB from 2008 to 2009. He entered the world of football again in 2010 as the Chairman of the Mountain West Conference Board of Directors. LT GEN Gould served as the Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy from 2009 to 2013. He is currently a speaker and consultant.
Pat Haden, Athletics Director of the University of Souther California
Pat Haden played quarterback for the Trojans from 1972 to 1975, leading the team to three Rose Bowl appearances in 1973, 1974, and 1975. He was a part of two national championship teams as a player, in 1972 and 1974. Haden ranks 13th on Southern California’s all-time passing list. He excelled scholastically too, being a two-time Academic All American as well as a Rhodes Scholar. After his college playing days, Haden went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981, making the Pro Bowl in 1977. In 1982 he left the field and entered the press box as a sportscaster for a number of media outlets including: CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, TNT and Westwood One. He remained in the booth until 2009. During that time he was also on the USC Board of Trustees and Chair of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Committees from 1991 to 2010. Haden enjoyed a great playing career, and others took notice. He was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 1988, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1995, received the NCAA Anniversary Award in 2000, and was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. He became the Athletics Director at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, in 2010 and remains there today.
Hot Seat Questions We Would Totally Ask If We Had A Sponsored Hot Seat Segment:
*answers are what we think they would probably say when given the chance
Okay, first time we’ve done double questions here gentlemen, thank you for joining us. You have both sat on boards before, do you think this will be like anything you’ve done before?
LT GEN Gould: Well, as a born leader, I plan on continuing to excel in that position. A good committee needs to have discipline and I certainly have a lot of experience there. I believe this can be an effective board, and I believe we can perfom within a structure to determine the best teams in college football.
Haden: I think we all know I’m not a huge fan of authority and structure. I mean, I ran onto the field of play to argue with officials during an actual game. So, I am going to do my best here, but sometimes my judgement is just meh.
Interesting answers. LT GEN Gould, you’ve had some experience in the political realm, are you looking forward to working with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice?
I think so, at the very least I believe we’ll have some positive conversations regarding foreign policy during the committee meetings. So if we can’t come to a consensus about the 4 best teams, we’ll at least have done some good.
Alright, seems like that shouldn’t be the focus, but okay. Mr. Haden, how do you think rotating the bowls is going to work down the road?
I believe the championship game should be at the Rose Bowl every single year. They don’t call it “The Grandaddy of Them All” for nothing.
Gentlemen, good luck picking the 4 best teams, I’m sure everyone will agree with your decision 100%.
Worked for the internet in Los Angeles before being lured back to Florida by SEC football and the promise of a bourbon bar. When he's not internetting or watching football, he's probably out giving himself 4-footers on the golf course.
