FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long was a unanimous selection by his peers on the College Football Playoff selection committee to serve as chairman for a second consecutive year, CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock announced Monday.
Long was chosen to serve as the inaugural chairman of the committee in October 2013 by the CFP management committee, which consists of conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletic director.
"Jeff has been a terrific chair and I am delighted that the committee elected him to serve again," Hancock said in a release. "Jeff is a thoughtful and dedicated leader who conducted the meetings skillfully. He also did a very good job answering questions about the rankings so fans could gain insight into the committee's decisions. It's clear that he has the full respect and confidence of the other committee members."
Long, 55, is entering his eighth season as Arkansas' athletic director was chosen for a five-year term with the CFP selection committee.
"I appreciate the confidence that the committee members have shown in me," Long said in the release. "I am truly honored that they have chosen me to serve in this capacity this coming year.
"The real strength of this committee is the work that each member does to rank the teams each week and ultimately select the best four teams for the playoff. I am honored to represent them in the role of chair."
As chairman of the selection committee, Long appeared in front of a national television audience each week starting in late October to discuss the committee's weekly rankings. His greatest visibility came the first week of December when he talked about the final rankings and the first four teams in the CFP playoffs: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State.
Long told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in late December that his first year on the committee was a great experience.
"Certainly the first time you do anything, especially in college football, there's so much visibility and interest," Long said then. "I thought the process went well. I think we did a good job on the front end defining the process, and I think we did a good job of following that process throughout the course of the rankings and then the championship weekend.
"I think the committee did a tremendous job preparing. They spent a great deal of time before they ever came into the meetings, so I was impressed by that."
The selection committee's choices gave Ohio State a chance with the No. 4 seed to upset Alabama and Oregon and win the first CFP national championship. In the old Bowl Championship Series system, it is likely Alabama would have met defending national champion Florida State in the championship game.
Sports on 01/27/2015