Ad Disclosure
Looking back at the Jeff Long tenure as Playoff Selection Committee Chairman
By Sean Labar
Published:
No one really knew how the College Football Playoff would shape up.
Most people agreed that there needed to be a new system. And so far, it looks to be working.
The Arkansas athletic director appears to have done a great job during his two years as the chairman of the CFB Playoff Selection Committee.
Sure, there were controversial rankings and debatable decisions. But under Long’s tenure, the playoff produced two deserving national champions.
The committee has always had the goal to make the chairman position a 1-2 year commitment and now Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt will be at the helm.
Here is Long’s statement on his tenure:
It is difficult to accurately express my sincere and deep appreciation for having been chosen by the 10 FBS commissioners to serve as the first chair of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and then to be chosen for my second term by me fellow committee members. It was extremely meaningful to me personally and professionally.
When I accepted the position of chairman, I did so feeling a strong sense of duty to represent all FBS athletics directors across the country and a commitment to help guide the process to determine the best four teams for the playoff as well as rank the remainder of the top 25 teams.
I am extremely proud of the work of the committee in the past two years and am confident we accomplished our mission.
I want to thank the management committee, Bill Hancock and my fellow committee members for their confidence in and support of me in such an important role.
I also want to thank the administration of the University of Arkansas for its support throughout my tenure.
I look forward to continuing our work on the committee as we serve on behalf of the thousands of student-athletes competing in college football.
Now Long can go back to focusing on the Razorbacks, who seem to be headed in the right direction.
Sean Labar is an SEC football contributor for Saturday Down South.
