‘Great deal of discovering’ on agenda for incoming CFP employer

• Heather Dinich, ESPN

  • Senior WriterNov 13, 2023, 01:31 PM ET Close College football
  • press reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of Indiana University

Air Force Academy superintendent Richard M. Clark, who will replace Expense Hancock as the next College Football Playoff executive director, yielded Monday he has “a great deal of learning to do,” however will lean on his years of military service and experience as a former player to assist usher in a brand-new period of the CFP.Clark, a former star linebacker at Air Force, rose through the ranks of the military to lieutenant general during a profession he stated covered 38 years. He has actually been hired at a significant point in the sport’s history, as the playoff will broaden to a 12-team format next season.Editor’s Picks

“There’s a lot of things that are going to have to happen as college football grows and where the CFP goes, and a few of those choices are choices that I will be working extremely carefully with the stakeholders who are associated with that growth,” Clark stated in an introductory teleconference. “And that’s one of skills I think I’ve developed over the years as an individual who works together and really assists to pull a group together to progress with big choices like this.

“As far as what uniquely certifies me for the sort of agreements that are going to have to be made, throughout my profession in the companies I’ve remained in, I have actually had to work with Congress. I’ve needed to overcome the Pentagon. If you have any familiarity with the Pentagon, there’s an unique skill that you have to have to get anything done there, due to the fact that it’s a big company with a lot of stakeholders.”

Hancock, who took part in the call, said much of 2024 will be “a year of shift as Rich gets up to speed on all things CFP.”

Clark will remain superintendent at Flying force through June 2024, and Hancock stated he will formally retire “early in 2025.”

“Making choices particularly on the kinds of contracts that we’re going to need to make, I have some finding out to do,” Clark stated. “I’m very delighted that Mr. Hancock is going to be there to assist me to comprehend that in the months ahead, so that when the choices are mine, to assist and direct and assist, that I’ll be able to develop that experience.”

Prior to his existing role at Flying force, Clark’s tasks included commanding bases around the country, working as a White House fellow and functioning as a senior defense authorities in Egypt. His assignment before taking control of at Flying force was deputy chief of staff for tactical deterrence and nuclear integration at the Pentagon.

“I’ve constantly considered myself a long-lasting student,” Clark said. “Every task that I have actually ever gone into in the Air Force over 38 years, normally I’m pretty new in whatever that mission was. I have a great deal of learning to do, however I count on my team around me, I count on mentors who are supporting me, and seek out the professionals who can assist me with some of the intricate concerns that surround these decisions.”

It’s uncertain how much input or influence Clark will have on the next CFP contract. There are two years staying in the current deal, which expires following the 2025 season. The broadened field is anticipated to produce approximately $450 million in gross revenue, and the circulation of it– along with media rights partners– are at the leading edge of conversations.

“The upcoming agreement for CFP, Mr. Hancock will still remain in place all the method through into ’25, so depending upon the timing of those agreements, that’s going to drive how much impact I’ll have,” Clark stated. “Regardless, I will be shoulder-to-shoulder with [Hancock] as we go through so that I can initially build the experience but also comprehend his thought process and how he goes through making these sort of choices.

“I am confident that when the time comes for me to be the one leading us through these choices, I’ll be prepared.”