IRVING, Texas — Utah Director of Athletics Mark Harlan was appointed Monday to the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee, CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock announced. Harlan, in his sixth year as athletics director at Utah, will serve on the committee for the 2023 season, replacing Jennifer Cohen.
"We are pleased to have Mark join the committee. His vast knowledge and experience as a college administrator has him well prepared for this new role," Hancock said. "While we are sorry Jennifer has had to step down from the committee, we certainly understand the exciting and challenging responsibilities she has with her new position at USC."
Harlan, who served a three-year term on the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee from 2019-2022, joins a distinguished group of leaders in intercollegiate athletics, including former coaches and student-athletes, college administrators and journalists, along with sitting athletics directors, on the committee.
"I'm honored to serve in this important role, and I'd like to thank the CFP Management Committee for this opportunity." Harlan said. "I recognize the importance of this committee for college football and for our industry, and I'm eager to join the current committee members in this commitment for the 2023 season."
In his first five years as Director of Athletics at the University of Utah, Harlan has led the Utes' athletics programs to unprecedented success in the classroom, in competition and in the community, while elevating the overall student-athlete experience and raising the bar in fundraising.
Harlan is guiding Utah Athletics to build upon a record-setting 2022-23 school year in which Utah earned its highest finish ever in the LEARFIELD Director's Cup and Harlan was named Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. University of Utah President Taylor Randall, in June 2023, announced an extension of Harlan's contract through 2028.
During Harlan's tenure, Utah has won four national championships and 24 conference championships, 16 of which have come just in the past two years. In each of the past two competition years, the Utes have had a school-record eight teams qualify for NCAA championship competition or a bowl game. Among the successes: Football has earned back-to-back Pac-12 Championships and Rose Bowl berths; the ski team has won four consecutive NCAA championships; and gymnastics has earned three consecutive third-place NCAA Championships finishes.
The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games as well as ranking the other top 25 teams. The committee meets in-person beginning Monday, Oct. 30 and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week leading up to its final selections on Dec. 3. For more information on the selection committee, visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com.
About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential. This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium.
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