Committee members resigning mid-season is a common occurrence in the 12-year history of the College Football Playoff. It has happened five times so far, and this year, it was no different. The selection committee is a 13-member group that makes the ultimate decisions and thus is the most powerful.  Let’s take a look at the current members of the committee.

Who are the 2025‑26 CFP selection committee members?

With the weekly shuffle of rankings, this season brought another twist: the person steering the process changed, too. On November 11, the College Football Playoff selection committee released its latest top 25. To clear up the reasoning behind the order, committee chairman Mack Rhoades walked ESPN through the choices and the logic behind each contender’s placement.

Just 48 hours later, he left the position, citing “personal reasons.” His resignation marks the fifth time in 12 years a College Football Playoff committee member has stepped away from the role. Before him, this season, the College Football Playoff committee saw Randall McDaniel walk away. However, he will be returning next year. That made the current College Football Playoff committee an 11-member group. 

Soon, Rhoades’s committee chair position was filled by Utah athletic director Mark Harlan on Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek’s initiative. The names in the current roster are Chris Ault, Troy Dannen, Mark Dantonio, Mark Harlan, Jeff Long, Ivan Maisel, Chris Massaro. Others include Mike Riley, David Sayler, Wesley Walls, Carla Williams, and Yurachek.

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The committee sticks to 13 members to ensure broad perspectives are taken into account, and regional balance is maintained. Experience shows it’s the sweet spot.

What are the criteria to join the CFP selection committee?

The College Football Playoff committee carries enormous weight in shaping the future of college football programs. In that case, compromising on expertise and integrity is non-negotiable for the selection process. Candidates are chosen for their backgrounds across five key areas: coaches, former student-athletes, administrators, athletic directors, and journalists.

The College Football Playoff committee carefully evaluates membership standards and seeks out high-integrity individuals who meet them. They go to great lengths when it comes to research. After that, members are selected for traits such as deep football knowledge, objectivity, sound judgment, and the ability to make tough calls. Members are also expected to devote substantial time to the role.

What factors does the CFP use to rank college football teams?

After expanding from four to 12 teams in 2024, the only tweak to the 2025 College Football Playoff is in how teams are seeded. Last year, the top four conference champions automatically received first-round byes, no matter their final ranking. This season, the top four teams in the final rankings earn those byes, regardless of whether they won a conference title.

The College Football Playoff committee evaluates teams using several key criteria:

i. Strength of schedule

ii. Head-to-head competition

iii. Performance against common opponents, without rewarding blowout margins.

iv. Injuries or coaching absences that may have influenced a team’s season or could impact its postseason play.

How does the committee decide the 12‑team playoff bracket?

In the system’s first decade, the format was simple. Four teams, two semifinals, and a championship showdown. But we have stepped into the 12-team era. The committee uses a bracketing system. The College Football Playoff now features 12 teams. Only the five highest-ranked conference champions earn the automatic bids. It does not matter even if they sit low in, or completely outside, the top 25. Example?

The Memphis Tigers failed to crack the top 25 but earned a projected auto-bid by being the fifth-highest-ranked conference champ. 

The top four teams in the final rankings, conference champions or not, will earn the four highest seeds and first-round byes. In the inaugural 12-team format in 2024, those byes went to the four highest-ranked conference champions. Teams seeded 5-12 will face off in first-round games hosted by the higher-seeded team.

The simplest outcome for the College Football Playoff committee would’ve been a BYU Cougars upset to force its way into the field. But Texas Tech Red Raiders shut that door with a dominant 34-7 win, claiming its first outright conference crown since 1955. 

That leaves the committee with a major decision ahead: choosing between the Miami Hurricanes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the last at-large bid.