KANSAS

Former Kansas Athletic Director Joins College Football Playoff Selection Committee

Jeff Long will be a part of the College Football Playoff selection process starting this season.
Pete Fiutak|
Feb 2, 2019; Lawrence, KS, USA; University of Kansas athletic director Jeff Long issues a statement concerning forward Silvio De Sousa (not pictured) before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Feb 2, 2019; Lawrence, KS, USA; University of Kansas athletic director Jeff Long issues a statement concerning forward Silvio De Sousa (not pictured) before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas will have a familiar face on the College Football Playoff committee - for good or bad.

(Even though there's no conflict of interests whatsoever on the committee, since anyone with any ties to a specific team being discussed has to excuse himself ... but I digress.)

Former Kansas athletic director Jeff Long was named to the College Football Playoff selection committee, along with Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen.. They'll replace former USA TODAY writer Steve Wieberg and SMU athletic director Damon Evans.

Long was the first chairman of the College Football Playoff back in 2013 when he was the athletic director at Arkansas. He took over the Kansas athletic director job in 2018, but his hiring of Les Miles as the head football coach - to be nice about it - didn't work.

Kansas went 3-18 in 2019 and 2020 in football. It wasn't on Long, but the basketball team lost in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the dominant 2020 team didn't get a shot with the tournament cancelled, and the 2021 team was knocked out in the second round.

Travis Goff took over in 2021, the 2022 hoops team on the national title, and he hired Lance Leipold as the head football coach.

The 65-year-old Long knows the College Football Playoff landscape, helped with the process from the start, and will fit right in.

Now Kansas needs to be good enough this season to make Long have to recuse himself from College Football Playoff rankings discussions.

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Pete Fiutak
PETE FIUTAK

Notre Dame, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana On SI. Publisher of CollegeFootballNews.com since 1998, writing more words about college football than any human ever. Worked for FOX Sports, USA TODAY, The Sporting News, and CBS Sports. America’s radio guest on ESPN, FOX, VSiN and several major market stations. Co-hosted shows on NFL Network, Big Ten Network, FOX Sports Radio, and for eight years was a talking head for Campus Insiders - now Stadium - including as an in-stadium co-host for the first four CFP National Championships. Heisman voter, FWAA Award winner, Doak Walker Award advisory board. Ordered by Keith Jackson to “call me Keith.” BlueSky @petefiutak.bsky.social and X @PeteFiutak

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