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Nebraska AD Troy Dannen Named to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee

The Huskers will have a voice in the room when it comes to determining the playoff participants.

Kaleb Henry

Athletic Director Troy Dannen.
Athletic Director Troy Dannen. / Amarillo Mullen
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Nebraska will officially have a voice on the inside when it comes to College Football Playoff selection.

CFP executive director Rich Clark announced Monday that NU athletics director Troy Dannen as been appointed to the selection committee. Also in the announcement was the appointment of Jeff Long, longtime college administrator and former athletics director at Kansas, Arkansas and Pittsburgh.

Dannen replaces Damon Evans, who recently became the athletic director at Southern Methodist.

"We are pleased to have Troy and Jeff join the committee," Clark said. "Troy brings a long commitment to college athletics to our group and previous experience as a member of the FCS Selection Committee, while Jeff, as the first chairman of the CFP selection committee (2014-15) will step in immediately and provide an experienced voice in the room."

Serving on major committees such as this one is nothing new for Dannen. He was a member of the NCAA Constitution Committee and the Division I Transformation Committee from 2021-23. He also previously served as the chair of the NCAA Football Competition Committee and was an executive committee member of the Football Oversight Committee.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Athletic Director Troy Dannen watches warmups before the game against the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.
Troy Dannen has been Nebraska's athletic director since March 2024. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Dannen took over as the AD at Nebraska in 2024. Prior to making his way to Lincoln, he also led Washington, Tulane, and Northern Iowa.

Although Nebraska has never sniffed a College Football Playoff berth, access to the field has never been easier for programs in the top 20 but not the top five. This past fall saw the CFP expand from four to 12 teams, and discussions are continuing on if expansion will take the field to 16 in the near future.

The highest Nebraska has ever appeared in the rankings was at No. 10 in the 2016 week nine rankings. The Huskers were 7-1 before going 2-2 to end the regular season and fall from the rankings entirely.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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