Arkansas AD Long chosen as football playoff selection committee chair

Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long will be the first chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, and the rest of the 13-member panel that will decide which teams play for the 2014 national championship will be officially revealed Wednesday.

The announcement of Long to lead the committee and act as a spokesman was made Monday.

A news conference will be held Wednesday at the College Football Playoff’s new offices in Irving, Texas, with Long and executive director Bill Hancock unveiling the rest of the members.

The names of the other members expected to be on the committee, however, already have been reported by The Associated Press and other media outlets.

Long is among five current athletic directors, along with West Virginia’s Oliver Luck, Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez, Clemson’s Dan Radakovich and Southern California’s Pat Haden.

Also expected on the committee are: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; retired Lt. Gen Michael Gould; former Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese; former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne; former Notre Dame, Stanford and Washington coach Tyrone Willingham; former NFL and Mississippi quarterback Archie Manning; former NCAA vice president Tom Jernstedt; and former college sports writer Steve Wieberg.

The committee will pick the four teams to play in the national semifinals in the new postseason system that will replace the Bowl Championship Series after this season. The winners will play about a week later for the national championship.

Long has led the athletic department at Arkansas since 2008 after holding the same position at Pittsburgh. He played football and baseball at Ohio Wesleyan and worked on the football staffs at Rice, North Carolina State, Duke and Michigan.

“I’m very humbled and honored to serve as the first chairman of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee,” Long said in a statement. “There is no doubt our task will be challenging. However, I am confident in the committee members’ ability to determine the four best teams in college football. I look forward to getting to work.”