Report: Big 12 nominates Utah athletic director for vacant spot on College Football Playoff selection committee

Mark Harlan is the Big 12's recommended replacement for Baylor's Mack Rhoades

The Big 12 has recommended Utah athletic director Mark Harlan as Mack Rhoades' replacement on the College Football Playoff selection committee. | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan could be back on the College Football Playoff selection committee in the near future.

The Big 12 recommended Harlan to fill the vacant spot on the selection committee on Thursday, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger.

Harlan would replace Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades after it was announced Thursday that Rhoades would take a leave of absence from the university. Rhoades also chose to step down from his position as chairman of the selection committee — a role he was appointed to this past March — and will be replaced as both chairman and member of the committee, per ESPN.

“Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective November 12," a statement from the school said. The University will decline to comment further at this time.”

Dellenger also reported that Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yuracheck was nominated as the selection committee's new chairman. All recommendations must be authorized by the College Football Playoff governing boards.

The Big 12 is recommending Utah AD Mark Harlan to replace Mack Rhoades on the CFP selection committee, sources tell @YahooSports.

It’s still unclear who will fill the committee chair role vacated by Rhoades.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 13, 2025

During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show", ESPN's Heather Dinich explained why the selection committee would likely fill its empty spot with another athletic director from the Big 12. Particularly, one who's been part of the selection process before.

“The chair is open and the most likely scenario at this point is that they will replace Rhodes, and they would replace him with a Big 12 athletic director because that’s what he was,” Dinich said. "I would expect a former committee member to rejoin the group from the Big 12."

Harlan, who was named Utah's athletic director in June 2018, briefly served on the selection committee in 2023, the school's final year as a member of the Pac-12. It was also the final four-team playoff before introducing a 12-team bracket in 2024.

The selection committee consists of 12 individuals, including athletic directors, sports journalists, former coaches and ex-players. Rhoades was the only sitting member with a Big 12 background.

The selection committee's search for another chairman began two days after it revealed the second edition of the CFP rankings for the 2025-26 postseason. Two Big 12 teams cracked the top 12 (No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 12 BYU) with the Utes not far behind at No. 13 for the second week in a row.

Rhoades' decision to take a leave of absence followed an investigation by the school involving an altercation between Rhoades and Bears tight end Michael Trigg during the team's Sept. 20 game against Arizona State. According to CBS Sports, Baylor received new allegations related to Rhoades on Monday. The allegations didn't involve the football program and were not tied to the incident with Trigg.

The Bears (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) host the Utes (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) in a pivotal league matchup on Saturday (5 p.m. MT, ESPN2).