CFP executive director details selection process

Days after the first 12-team College Football Playoff was set, CFP executive director General Rich Clark spoke about — and defended — the process used to determine the participants in the expanded postseason.

Clark was a guest on Friday’s episode of The Paul Finebaum Show. After detailing who makes up the committee that determines who makes the CFP and how they are seeded, Clark went over the work that each member does before voting.

“They’ve all done their homework — and that’s the beauty ” Clark said. “They’ve watched film, videos, they watch a condensed version of the games over the weekend — 45 minutes to watch a game — but they’re watching a lot of games. They’re doing a lot of homework and they come in ready to talk. We go through this. It is a process that has been established over the last 10 years and it has evolved. It is actually a pretty good process and the discussion that the people have in the room is actually incredible. Sometimes I sit in there and I go, ‘I can’t believe this is what I’m doing now.'”

To the surprise of, well, no one, some controversies arose during the process. Teams (and their respective spokespeople) lobbied for seeding before the conference championship games were even completed on Saturday night.

While Clemson’s upset win over SMU largely eliminated questions about which four teams would receive a bye week, it created enough issue. Who would earn the final spot — SMU or Alabama? Ultimately, the spot went to the Mustangs, leading to confusing arguments from the Crimson Tide. And while a case could certainly be made that Alabama was the better team, Clark noted how making the Conference Championship Game was valued by the committee.

Clark also noted how arguments and debates take place.

“I would say the checks and balances come from each other in the room. My role is really, I call sort of like the sergeant-at-arms. I’m the one that makes sure that we’re following the protocol that the conference commissioners have laid forth and given us to follow. And each committee member really just follows that and makes sure that they’re doing it by the letter of the law. Warde Manuel was our chairman this year. [He] did an amazing job as our chairman and he leads the discussion. So I think that there’s checks and balances.

“There’s a lot of integrity in that room but there’s also a lot of willingness to talk — a lot of bold leaders that are anxious to get their opinion heard and on the table. But in the end, everybody checks their ego at the door. You listen, you engage and then you vote. You vote your conscience and you do it the right way.”

Finally, while praising the process used to determine the CFP participants, Clark did note that future changes could be forthcoming.

“I personally think that the process is really good. We can always get better and we will get better. We’re gonna step back and look at it and try to improve. We always do. But I really think that it’s a great process.”

CFP Executive Director Rich Clarkpic.twitter.com/8C88SUFGu9

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2024

“I personally think that the process is really good,” he said. “We can always get better and we will get better. We’re gonna step back and look at it and try to improve. We always do. But I really think that it’s a great process and I think they came up with a good result, personally.”

[Photo Credit: SEC Network/The Paul Finebaum Show]