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Ex-Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer among 3 added to College Football Playoff selection committee
There will be three new faces on the College Football Playoff selection committee in 2017.
CFP executive director Bill Hancock announced Tuesday that Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer and Robert Morris University president Chris Howard will join the group. The three will serve three-year terms, replacing Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose three-year terms expired, and former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who stepped down due to health reasons.
“Frank, Chris and Gene will each bring a wealth of knowledge to the selection committee,” Hancock said. “All three played college football. And they will continue the CFP tradition of committee members with high integrity and a passion for college football.”
Smith has served as Ohio State’s athletic director since 2005 and was promoted to the role of OSU’s senior vice president in May. Before his time at Ohio State, Smith was the athletic director at Arizona State, Eastern Michigan and Iowa State. He also served as president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and has served on the NCAA Management Council, NCAA Committee on Infractions, NCAA Executive Committee, NCAA Football Rules Committee and National Football Foundation Honors Court, among others. Smith, who played college football at Notre Dame, is a current member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee as well.
Beamer was the head coach at Virginia Tech from 1987 to 2015, when he retired. He led the Hokies to a bowl game in 23 consecutive seasons and won seven conference titles (four ACC, three Big East) during his tenure. His overall record at Virginia Tech is 238–121–2. Upon his retirement, Beamer was the winningest active coach in FBS history. Beamer was the national coach of the year in 1999, the Big East coach of the year in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and the ACC coach of the year in 2004.
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Before becoming coach at Virginia Tech, Beamer spent six years as the head coach at Murray State following his playing career with the Hokies.
Howard, a former All-American running back at Air Force, became president at Robert Morris University (just outside of Pittsburgh) in February 2016. Howard was a Rhodes scholar and earned his doctorate in politics at the University of Oxford and an M.B.A. with distinction from the Harvard Business School after his playing career at Air Force ended. At Air Force, he was the first winner of the Campbell Trophy, which goes to the country’s top senior football scholar-athlete.
In addition to confirming the appointments of Smith, Beamer and Howard, Hancock confirmed that Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt will continue as the committee’s chair next season. Hocutt’s term on the committee has been extended through February 2018. Also, the term for former Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson has been extended through February 2019.
“We are also delighted that Kirby will return as chair,” Hancock said. “He did a tremendous job of leading and facilitating the committee’s deliberations, and he was also an excellent representative with the media and public. Likewise, we are pleased that Bobby accepted our invitation to return. He is an excellent evaluator of teams and brings a valuable coach’s perspective.”
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