The only poll in college football that matters in any way, shape or form has official release dates.
The first set of playing rankings, the College Football Playoff confirmed Thursday evening, will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 9-9:30 p.m. ET. The late start to the first release of the Top 25 is due to the fact that it’s scheduled to air between the Kansas-Duke and Michigan State-Kentucky basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.
That initial release will be the first of five before the final CFP rankings that will set the four-team playoff field as well as New Year’s Six Bowls are unveiled on Sunday, Dec. 8, starting at noon ET and lasting until four that afternoon.
- Tuesday, November 5, 9 - 9:30 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, November 12. 7 - 8 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, November 19, 7 - 8 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, November 26, 7 - 8 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, December 3, 7 - 7:30 p.m. ET
- Sunday, December 8, noon - 4 p.m. ET
In January of this year, the CFP announced three new additions to its selection committee -- Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir, former Army Chief of Staff and ex-Army football player Ray Odierno and former Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum. A month later, it was confirmed that Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith would be stepping away from his voting duties a year early and replaced by his counterpart at Iowa, Gary Barta.
With those four new additions, there are now 13 voting members of the CFP selection committee. The other nine appear below.
- Former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer (February 2020)
- Former sportswriter Paola Boivin (February 2021)
- Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione (February 2021)
- Former head coach Ken Hatfield (February 2021)
- Robert Morris University president Christopher Howard (February 2020)
- College Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott (February 2021)
- Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens (February 2020)
- Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury (February 2021)
- Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin (February 2021)
Mullens will continue on as the committee’s chair.
“We’ve enjoyed five years of the College Football Playoff, and the selection committee is looking forward to the start of our sixth season,” Mullens said in a statement. “It is always good to have the full group together. Our meetings this week were productive and thorough.”
In addition to rankings release dates, the CFP also reaffirmed its recusal policy.A recused member is permitted to answer only factual questions about the institution from which the member is recused but shall not be present during any deliberations regarding that team’s selection or seeding. Recused members shall not participate in discussions regarding the placement of the recused team into a bowl game.
“If a committee member or an immediate family member, e.g., spouse, sibling or child, (a) is compensated by a school, (b) provides professional services for a school, or (c) is on the coaching staff or administrative staff at a school or is a football student-athlete at a school, that member will be recused. Such compensation shall include not only direct employment, but also current paid consulting arrangements, deferred compensation (e.g., contract payments continuing after employment has ended, or other benefits. The committee will have the option to add other recusals if special circumstances arise.