After College Football Playoff committee chairman and Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades took a leave of absence for “personal reasons,” the CFP selection committee had an open slot to fill with less than a month to go until the final selection show.
With Rhoades’ sudden absence from the CFP committee, a replacement has to be found quickly with a new set of rankings coming out Tuesday.
Since Rhoades was an athletic director of a Big 12 school, the conference got to recommend a replacement.
The Big 12 today recommended Utah athletic director Mark Harlan to fill an empty seat — there are two empty spots on the 13-member committee, one vacated by Rhoades and one vacated by former NFL player Randall McDaniel.
Harlan was voted in by the CFP committee this afternoon.
“I’m honored to be asked to step up and serve once again on the College Football Playoff selection committee at this critical time in the season, though I wished it was under different circumstances,” Harlan said in a statement. “I have great respect for the selection committee’s work and its members, as well as for the CFP staff, and I look forward to contributing in the weeks ahead.”
Harlan previously served as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee in 2023. That year was perhaps the most controversial College Football Playoff field ever, as the committee put 12-1 SEC champion Alabama in the four-team field over undefeated ACC championship Florida State, which lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury in the second-to-last regular-season game.
Harlan is one of just two current Big 12 athletic directors to serve on the CFP committee before, making him an easy recommendation to join on such short notice.
“Mark Harlan is an excellent choice to serve as the Big 12 Conference’s representative on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark in a statement. “Mark’s previous experience on the committee will serve the interests of all of college football alongside the other committee members.”
Though Harlan will be replacing Rhoades, he won’t be the CFP committee chair — that will be Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek.