End of the BCS

By: Katelin Turner

On October 14, 2013, the country was finally introduced by press conference to the new 13-member selection committee for the College Football Playoff (CFP). The committee includes:

• Jeff Long, vice chancellor and director of athletics at University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, committee chairman
• Barry Alvarez, director of athletics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Lieutenant General Mike Gould, former superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy
• Pat Haden, director of athletics, University of Southern California
• Tom Jernstedt, former NCAA executive vice presidnet
• Oliver Luck, director of athletics, West Virginia University
• Archie Manning, former University of Mississippi quarterback and all-pro NFL quarterback
• Tom Osborne, former head coach and director of athletics, University of Nebraska- Lincoln
• Dan Radakovich, director of athletics, Clemson University
• Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University professor, former Stanford provost and former United States Secretary of State
• Mike Tranghese, former commisioner of the Big East Conference
• Steve Wieberg, former college football reporter, USA Today
• Tyrone Willingham, former head coach of three FBS institutions

After the announcement, there was some backlash to the selection. People argued that because some of the members hadn’t played football, they didn’t know enough to be deciding the playoff, but the biggest issue was many people believed that Condoleezza Rice shouldn’t be on the committee. People thought that because she is a woman, she doesn’t know enough to be making decisions regarding the playoffs.

The CFP organization used the systems theory to announce the selection committee and deal with the issues surrounding it. They use an open system, as they used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to recieve input from their publics, as well as listening to the media when they wrote about the committee. Condoleezza Rice spoke with Fox Sports’ Pam Oliver about her selection. Rice took the initiative to respond to the outcry and talk to their publics about the issues, perfectly illustrating the systems theory.

The organization also took the initiative to include a fact sheet to explain many of the more unclear parts of the new system and committee.

In another section of their website, the CFP organization explains the process of selecting the committee:

“Committee-Member Selection Process:

There were five categories of individuals: People with experience as (1) coaches, (2) student-athletes, (3) administrators, and (4) journalists, and also (5) sitting directors of athletics.

The management committee gave careful consideration to the standards for membership and identifying individuals who matched the criteria. The top-priority criterion was integrity. Among the other valued attributes was football expertise, objectivity, ability to carefully evaluate and discern information, and experience in making decisions under scrutiny. Prospective members were asked to commit significant time to the endeavor.

In the spring of 2013, each FBS conference was invited to submit a list of up to 15 potential candidates. Those individuals comprised the preliminary list of nominees. The management committee reduced that list of approximately 100 names to a shorter list. The management committee reviewed this short list and then authorized Hancock to begin contacting prospective members to gauge their interest in serving.

After discussions with prospective members, formal invitations were extended.”

Because they fully explained this process, the organization was able to appeal to their publics and try to lessen the complaints about how the committee was chosen.

They anticipated what their publics would have issues with and decided to explain them more fully to help gain approval. This anticipation also shows the systems theory because the organization thought about their audiences and decided to provide them with information they thought they would need to respond to.

By setting up a press conference to announce the selection committee, having Condoleeza Rice making an on-air appearance to talk about the committee, and providing valuable information about the process on their website—all some of the most widely used PR tactics—the CFP organization has been effectively using public relations to help the country be more informed about the future of college football.