Football
CFP committee role shapes Yurachek’s vision for college football’s future
As college football’s power brokers debate playoff expansion, Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek finds himself at the intersection of competing interests
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The future of college football’s postseason hangs in the balance, and Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek sits at a unique crossroads.
As both a College Football Playoff selection committee member and SEC athletic director, Yurachek navigates the complex waters of playoff expansion with a perspective few others can match.
“You’re trying to take off your institutional hat, and then you try to take off your SEC hat and do what’s best, in the end, for college football,” Yurachek said during the SEC’s annual spring meetings at Miramar Beach, Florida. “It’s hard to separate being at the University of Arkansas and being in the SEC from making the decision that’s in the best interest of those two entities.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher. According to CBS Sports, support is growing for a dramatic expansion of the playoff format starting in 2026.
Two primary models have emerged: a “4-4-2-2-1” structure giving the SEC and Big Ten four automatic qualifiers each, or a “5+11” format providing spots for five conference champions and eleven at-large teams.
Yurachek’s dual role provides crucial insight into the selection process. Before taking the helm at Arkansas in 2017, he built his reputation at Coastal Carolina, where he oversaw 29 Big South Conference championships. This experience with both power conferences and smaller programs shapes his measured approach to expansion.
Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, a former selection committee member himself, recently sparked debate by questioning the committee’s role. “A committee is not ideal to choose a postseason,” Stricklin said. “I question whether it is appropriate for college football.”
Yurachek disagrees. “If you go to automatic bids, the function of the committee will change, for sure,” he said. “But as a current member of the committee, I really think the committee this year got it right.”
The debate intensified after three 9-3 SEC teams were left out of this year’s playoff, prompting SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to advocate for schedule strength consideration.
“It’s clear that not losing becomes, in many ways, more important than beating the University of Georgia, which two of our teams that left out did,” Sankey noted.
To address these concerns, the playoff management committee modified its seeding process for 2025, adopting a straight-seeding model that could prevent scenarios like Alabama’s exclusion despite being ranked higher than automatic qualifier Clemson.
Dr. Richard Crandall, who has studied playoff impacts on college athletics, suggests that expansion beyond the current structure could fundamentally reshape competitive balance in the sport. His research indicates that playoff participation significantly affects both athletic department resources and institutional visibility.
Yurachek emphasizes the importance of maintaining the regular season’s significance while expanding opportunities.
“We have a committee that selects every other championship participant [in other sports], and I think it works,” he said. “There’s a question about the number of data points that you have in college football, because you only play 12 or 13 games.
“The committee has proven itself, most of the time, to be right.”
As discussions continue, Yurachek’s unique position balancing institutional interests, conference priorities, and national perspective could prove invaluable in shaping college football’s future.
The path forward requires careful consideration of tradition, fairness, and the sport’s long-term health.
The final decision on playoff expansion won’t come easily, but Yurachek’s experience suggests that thoughtful leadership can bridge competing interests.
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