When the College Football Playoff era began in 2014, the organization hired Bill Hancock, a 40-year veteran in the college sports administrative space, as its first executive director. In June, Hancock announced that he would be retiring from the post in 2025, and the CFP has opted to go in a completely different direction with his successor.
The CFP Board of Managers hired Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark as the second executive director of the College Football Playoff on Friday. Clark arrives to his new job after a lengthy career in the Air Force. Now, his first full-time job in college football is perhaps the most important in the sport at a pivotal moment.
Clark’s Air Force credentials jump off the page. He flew more than 400 hours in combat, primarily in a B-1 Bomber, and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross among other lofty accolades. In 2020, Clark was named superintendent of the Air Force Academy, a role similar to a university president. He also played on Air Force’s 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl team, which went 12-1 and finished No. 8 in the nation.
Still, Clark’s experience in college athletics is far more limited. As superintendent, Clark oversaw Air Force’s rise to its first College Football Playoff Rankings appearance in 2023, but the day-to-day is managed by athletic director Nathan Pine. He’s also worked with the Mountain West Conference on athletic issues as superintendent.
“I’ve always considered myself a lifelong learner,” Clark said. “Every job I’ve ever gone into in the Air Force over 38 years, I’m usually pretty new at whatever that mission was, and I had a lot of learning to do. But I rely on my team around me, I rely on my mentors who are supporting me and seek out the experts that can help me with some of the complex…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/in-hiring-richard-clark-college-football-playoff-leans-on-leadership-as-sport-readies-to-enter-a-new-era/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2023-11-13 21:04:21
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