Utah athletic director named to College Football Playoff selection committee

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan has been approved to rejoin the College Football Playoff selection committee.

College Football Playoff commissioners approved the move after the Big 12 recommended Harlan replace Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, who stepped down from his role as chairman earlier in the week.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek has been appointed as the group’s new chair. Yurachek was appointed to the selection committee in February 2024 and previously served as a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee and the Football Competition Committee.

The College Football Playoff Management Committee confirmed both moves, which were first reported by Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger on Thursday.

"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, who previously served on the selection committee in 2023, will play a role in shaping the 12-team playoff for the 2025-26 postseason. The selection committee is responsible for ranking the top 25 teams, then assigning the top 12 to the playoff bracket based on the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus at-large bids. The group meets in-person beginning Nov. 3-4 and produces a ranking each week leading up to the final selections on Dec. 7.

Utah came in at No. 13 in the second edition of the CFP rankings released on Tuesday. Two Big 12 teams (No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 12 BYU) were ahead of the Utes with three games left in the regular season.

Harlan's presence maintains Big 12 representation within the selection committee, as Rhoades was the only sitting member with a Big 12 background prior to his departure. The other 11 members include former Nevada quarterback and head coach Chris Ault; Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen; former Cincinnati and Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio; former Pittsburgh, Arkansas and Kansas athletic director Jeff Long; sports journalist Ivan Maisel; Middle Tennessee State director of athletics Chris Massaro; former Oregon State and Nebraska head coach Mike Riley; Miami Ohio athletic director David Sayler; former Ole Miss and NFL tight end Wesley Walls; Virginia director of athletics Carla Williams and Yurachek.

The selection committee typically has 13 members, though it decided to remain at 12 after Randall McDaniel, an All-American guard out of Arizona State, stepped away from his role in October. McDaniel will return for the 2026-27 season.

Since Harlan was named Utah's athletic director in 2018, the school has won five national championships and 32 conference championships, 24 of which have come in the past four years, across its 19 NCAA sport programs. Back-to-back Pac-12 championships in football and Rose Bowl appearances in 2022 and 2023 are among those successes, as well as four of the past five NCAA championships in skiing.

Harlan was named the Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics following the 2022-23 season. Prior to his current role, he worked as the director of athletics at South Florida for five years. Harlan also wore several hats working at UCLA, Arizona (twice), San Jose State and Northern Colorado across his three decades in athletics administration.

OFFICIAL: @ArkRazorbacks AD Hunter Yurachek named chair of College Football Playoff Selection Committee; @utahathletics AD Mark Harlan returns.

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— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 13, 2025

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