In hiring Richard Clark, College Football Playoff leans on leadership as sport readies to enter a new era

When the College Football Playoff era started in 2014, the group employed Bill Hancock, a 40-year veteran within the school sports activities administrative area, as its first govt director. In June, Hancock introduced that he can be retiring from the post in 2025, and the CFP has opted to pass in a utterly other course along with his successor. 

The CFP Board of Managers employed Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark as the second one govt director of the College Football Playoff on Friday. Clark arrives to his new activity after a long profession within the Air Force. Now, his first full-time activity in school soccer is possibly a very powerful within the sport at a pivotal second. 

Clark’s Air Force credentials bounce off the web page. He flew greater than 400 hours in battle, basically in a B-1 Bomber, and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross amongst different lofty accolades. In 2020, Clark was once named superintendent of the Air Force Academy, a function an identical to a college president. He additionally performed on Air Force’s 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl workforce, which went 12-1 and completed No. 8 within the country.

Still, Clark’s enjoy in school athletics is way more restricted. As superintendent, Clark oversaw Air Force’s upward push to its first College Football Playoff Rankings look in 2023, however the day-to-day is controlled through athletic director Nathan Pine. He’s additionally labored with the Mountain West Conference on athletic problems as superintendent. 

“I’ve always considered myself a lifelong learner,” Clark stated. “Every job I’ve ever gone into in the Air Force over 38 years, I’m usually pretty new at whatever that mission was, and I had a lot of learning to do. But I rely on my team around me, I rely on my mentors who are supporting me and seek out the experts that can help me with some of the complex issues that surround these decisions. 

“So I’ve been doing this type of paintings usually for a very long time, however now not particularly with school soccer. I will be able to convey the ones abilities to endure on this and I’m excited to do it.” 

Clark won a telephone name from the quest company throughout the final month. He joked that he idea one in all his buddies was once pranking him as a result of he was once not sure whether or not his {qualifications} are compatible what he anticipated for the function. CFP leaders quickly recognized him as a most sensible goal, alternatively. 

The College Football Playoff Management Committee was once undeterred through Clark’s loss of enjoy in school athletics, pointing time and again to his leadership enjoy. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum serves as chair of the CFP Board of Managers, the crowd of presidents and chancellors that run the equipment. During Clark’s interview, Keenum best wrote that he felt Clark had the “wow factor.” 

“Where I’m coming from, I want someone who can be a strong advocate for the sport,” Keenum stated. “Yes, leadership is critical, but someone who can be an advocate, a spokesperson, be the image and the face of college football and where we go and our future. I know when General Clark walks in the room to sit and represent the College Football Playoff and college football, we’re going to have a strong, effective, capable leader and a spokesperson to represent us.” 

Leadership and collaboration will stay entrance of thoughts as Clark will probably be required to oversee a sophisticated time within the sport. In taking on the College Football Playoff, Clark will organize one of the most maximum robust leaders in school sports activities. The 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director make up the CFP Management Committee, which runs the minor main points of the group. The team has been deep within the weeds discussing the mechanics of an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff layout set to debut in 2024, together with discussions on whether or not the new box will fall from six to 5 automated bids after 10 of 12 Pac-12 groups introduced plans to depart the convention subsequent 12 months. 

Clark in large part stayed clear of taking many stances on hot-button problems, as a substitute pronouncing he needed to communicate and collaborate with different leaders to in finding the most efficient plans. However, as a former Group of Five college chief, he did explain that he believes it will be significant for there to be a spot for the G5 within the expanded playoff. 

Another piece putting over the College Football Playoff is the query of governance. Many around the sport have known as for the FBS to ruin off from the NCAA and pointed to the CFP as a possible group to run the sport. Clark stated the expanded function in governance as a chance. 

“There’s a lot of things that are going to have to happen as college football grows and where the CFP goes,” Clark stated. “Some of those decisions are decisions that I will be working very closely with all the stakeholders who are involved in that growth, which is one of the skills that I think I’ve developed over the years as a person who collaborates and really helps to pull a team together to move forward with big decisions like this.” 

Across the board, main school sports activities has taken a notable flip clear of longtime directors. The Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 have employed a blended 4 commissioners since 2020, all of whom got here from out of doors of faculty athletics. The Big 12’s Brett Yormark and Pac-12’s George Kliavkoff each labored as leisure executives. New Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has enjoy in baseball, broadcast and gaming. Former Big Ten commish Kevin Warren got here from the NFL, and later returned as CEO of the Chicago Bears. 

On a upper degree, the NCAA employed former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker as president. In his first few months on the activity, Baker has frolicked in Washington, D.C. attesting and lobbying Congress. Without query, Clark’s enjoy operating on Capitol Hill and with the White House was once a extremely horny high quality as school soccer enters a length of swarming law and proceedings. 

Hancock will keep on as full-time govt director via no less than the 2024 nationwide championship sport. Clark is anticipated to transition into the function in 2024, and Hancock will formally retire in early 2025. 

Ironically, Clark was once tapped to be a member of the College Football Playoff Committee beginning in 2024. He famous that, on the time, he could not call to mind a larger honor. When the risk to grow to be govt director arrived, there was once some unhappiness, however this degree of honor was once an excessive amount of to decline. 

“To be a part of something as big as this for our country, it’s unimaginable to me that the opportunity presented itself,” Clark stated. “I am honored and grateful for the chance to be a part of it. I look forward to learning more and moving forward to help us achieve those goals.”