IRVING, Texas – The College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee has appointed University of Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek as selection committee chair for the remainder of the 2025 football season, it was announced today by Rich Clark, executive director of the CFP. Yurachek replaces Mack Rhoades, the athletics director at Baylor University, who stepped down from the committee for personal reasons.

In addition, Mark Harlan, athletics director at the University of Utah, was appointed to the CFP Selection Committee, to replace Rhoades. Harlan returns to the CFP Selection Committee, having previously served a one-year term during the 2023 season.

"We are deeply appreciative of Mack Rhoades' leadership and service as Chair of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee this season," said Clark. "Mack has informed us of his decision to step down for personal reasons, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this time. We are pleased to announce that Hunter Yurachek will assume the role of Selection Committee Chair, effective immediately. Hunter's experience, integrity, and commitment to the game make him exceptionally well-suited to lead the committee as it continues its important work throughout the remainder of the season."

Mark Harlan has served as athletics director at the University of Utah since 2018. During Harlan's tenure, Utah has won five national championships and 32 conference championships, 24 of which have come in the past four years. In 2024-25, six Utah teams qualified for NCAA championship postseason competition. Among the successes: Football has earned back-to-back Pac-12 championships and Rose Bowl berths in 2022 and 2023; the ski team has won four of the past five NCAA championships; and gymnastics has earned five consecutive top four NCAA Championships finishes. Following the 2022-23 academic year, Harlan was named Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. During his career, Harlan has been named to several influential committees, including a recent three-year term on the Division I Football Oversight Committee.

Harlan has spent over three decades in athletics administration, including the past 12 years as an athletics director. Before taking over at Utah, he spent five years as director of athletics at the University of South Florida. Previously he worked in various athletics roles at UCLA, the University of Arizona (twice), San Jose State and the University of Northern Colorado. He began his career in 1992 at his alma mater, Arizona, and spent over a decade there before moving to Northern Colorado.

Harlan graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in education.

The CFP Selection Committee is responsible for ranking the top 25 teams, then assigning the 12 teams to the playoff bracket. The committee meets in-person beginning in early November and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week leading up to its final selections.



About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the event that crowns the national champion in college football. The CFP selection committee ranks the top 25 teams at the end of the regular season. The five highest ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams will be seeded into a 12-team bracket based on the final ranking, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving a first-round bye. The teams ranked Nos. 5-12 will play in the CFP First Round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds. The Playoff Quarterfinals and Playoff Semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. For additional information on the College Football Playoff, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.