U-M advertisement Manuel named chair of CFP committee

• Heather Dinich, ESPN

  • Elder WriterFeb 8, 2024, 01:00 PM ET Close College football press reporter Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of Indiana University

After a turbulent but successful season that culminated with a national championship, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has been called the chair of the College Football Playoff choice committee for the very first season of the 12-team playoff, the CFP revealed Thursday.

“We are pleased that Warde will work as chair,” CFP executive director Expense Hancock said in a statement. “He has actually been an important member of the committee the last two years which experience will serve him well in leading the group. As a previous student-athlete, he will likewise be a good spokesperson to let fans know how the committee reached its rankings.”

Manuel, a previous protective end at Michigan, will replace NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan, whose term has ended after serving as the group’s chair for the previous two seasons. The CFP likewise announced 6 new members to the 13-member group charged with picking the groups for the playoff, consisting of former Minnesota Vikings fantastic Randall McDaniel, one of the most embellished offensive linemen in NFL history.Editor’s Picks

1 Related Other new committee members include Washington State athletic director Pat Chun; previous Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel; Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades; Virginia athletic director Carla Williams; and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek.The new members will start their three-year terms this spring. They will replace Corrigan, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, previous Hall of Popularity coach Joe Taylor and previous Notre Dame linebacker and tight end Rod West, whose terms have expired. The CFP extended the regard to former All-American Nebraska lineman Will Shields for an extra year.In addition to running the weekly conferences this fall

, Manuel’s role as the committee chair positions him in the type of public role he has usually shied away from, as he is frequently reluctant to take the spotlight far from the coaches and professional athletes in his program.Manuel has actually been not able to avoid the general public eye just recently, however, as his program was concurrently the No. 1 group in the nation and under two different NCAA investigations, which are ongoing. He also just emerged from one of the most high-profile coaching searches in the country, as previous coach Jim Harbaugh left to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.Manuel promoted offensive organizer Sherrone Moore to the head-coaching task, but the entire athletic

department is still under the cloud of the NCAA’s dueling examinations. The first is for declared recruiting infractions under Harbaugh throughout the COVID-19 recruiting dead duration, and the 2nd is for claims of an extensive cheating scandal from forbidden off-campus searching and indication stealing. The 2 have so far totaled up to Harbaugh being suspended for half of the 2023 routine season.As controversial as Michigan’s season was last year, the unprecedented claims versus a CFP team with its leader on the committee didn’t affect the group’s conversations last fall. The CFP repeated that as long as Michigan was eligible for the postseason, it was qualified to be ranked by the committee. Manuel missed out on only one CFP meeting last fall due to the fact that of the sign-stealing scandal. Per CFP policy, he also recused himself from the room when voting and debates about Michigan took place.As the committee chair, Manuel will be the sole voice in the group permitted to speak on the record about the committee’s process during a season of enormous

change. Unlike in the four-team playoff, which has existed for the previous years, the 12-team field will likely include the 5 highest-ranked conference champs and the next seven highest-ranked groups. The 4 highest-ranked conference champions will make the leading 4 seeds and a first-round bye. The seeding and final bracket could look various from the committee’s ranking– a brand-new procedure of description for Manuel.”My first two years on the committee have actually been a great experience, “Manuel said in a declaration.”I have a lot respect for the time and effort each committee member puts in each week since of their

dedication to the game. I’m honored to be asked to function as committee chair.”Although the playoff field and format have changed, the choice committee’s role has not. The new members will continue to utilize mainly the very same procedure to determine their weekly leading 25 ranking and eventually the last teams on Choice Day. If there are any modifications to the way the groups are chosen, it will be determined at the CFP’s annual spring meeting in April.Incoming committee member Chun, who is entering his 6th year as athletic director at Washington State, is representing the remains of the Pac-12 and a school that has actually been part of the CFP’s failure to formally authorize a 5 +7 model

. Conferences take turns nominating committee members, and the dwindling league is down to Washington State and Oregon State after a mass exodus of conference realignment. Washington State president Kirk Schulz is on the CFP’s board of managers, which consists of 11 presidents and chancellors who have the supreme authority over the playoff. They need an unanimous vote to approve the 5 +7 model, and although it is anticipated ultimately, it hasn’t occurred yet since of the Pac-12’s precarious position.Before his arrival at Washington State, Chun invested 5 1/2 years as athletic director at FAU and the previous 15 years at his university, Ohio State. Chun, a native of Strongsville, Ohio, earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State and a master’s degree from Duquesne.McDaniel was an All-American guard and four-year starter( 1984-87)for Arizona State and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Popularity in 2008. He was chosen by the Vikings in the preliminary of the 1988 NFL draft and made an NFL-record 12 successive trips to the Pro Bowl at left guard.

He is a member of the Vikings Ring of Honor and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Although there are a number of former coaches and players in the group, 7 sitting athletic directors representing seven conferences (consisting of one from each Power 5 league)comprise the bulk. Williams is in her seventh year at Virginia however also has comprehensive experience as a previous professional athlete.

She was a three-year starter and All-SEC guard for the Georgia women’s basketball group(1987-89 ). She made her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia and a doctorate from Florida State.Yurachek is in his seventh year at Arkansas and is also a member of the NCAA’s football oversight committee, a role he has actually held given that 2021 after serving on the football competition committee. Yurachek made his bachelor’s degree at Guilford College in 1990, where he was a four-year letter winner in basketball. He made his master’s degree in sports administration from Richmond in 1994. Rhoades, who is entering his seventh year as Baylor’s athletic director, graduated from Arizona and made his master’s degree from Indiana. He was formerly athletic director at Missouri(2015-16), where fellow committee member Pinkel coached from 2001 to 2015. Pinkel has the most wins of any head coach in the history of both Toledo and Mizzou. Pinkel, who has given that retired, was a tight end at Kent State. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022. The other returning committee members are previous Nevada coach Chris Ault, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk, former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, Miami(Ohio)athletic director David Sayler, previous sportswriter Kelly Whiteside, Manuel and Shields.