The College Football Playoff Committee once again has one of the toughest and most highly criticized jobs in sports. Twelve people make up the 2025-2026 committee, following Randall McDaniel's step back for personal reasons in October. He was not replaced.
The committee will meet for the final time after conference championship weekend. Their submitted rankings will be revealed on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 7, at noon.
In the history of the sport, the College Football Playoff committee is still relatively young. The process used to be dominated by computer metrics and rankings during the Bowl Championship Series era. Beginning in 2014, the College Football Playoff committee has comprised at least 13 members. Well, it is supposed to be. With McDaniel taking a step back, the committee will operate with fewer than 13 members for the fourth time in the last 12 years.
Let's take a look at the active members comprising the 12-person College Football Playoff committee in 2025.
Here is more on the members of the 2025 College Football Playoff committee.
MORE: Forecasting the 2025 College Football Playoff
Who is on the College Football playoff committee?
Chris Ault
Chris Ault is a former University of Nevada head football coach, serving from 1992-95 and 2004-2012. As head coach of the Wolfpack, Nevada has a total record of 95-56, and he led Nevada to a bowl game in all but two of his seasons there.
After retiring from his coaching days in Nevada, Ault spent 2013 and 2014 as a consultant for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also coached in the Italian Football League in 2016 and 2017. He was named to the CFP selection committee in March 2023.
Troy Dannen
Dannen is the athletic director at Nebraska. Previously, he was the athletic director at the University of Washington, and the University of Tulane. His first experience as a collegiate AD was with Northern Iowa from 2008 to 2015.
Mark Dantonio
Dantonio served as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati from 2004 to 2006, before becoming the head coach at Michigan State from 2007 to 2019. He had a career record of 132-74. Dantonio was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, and the Michigan State Ring of Honor.
Mark Harlan
Harlan is the current athletic director at the University of Utah. Previously, he served as the AD for the University of South Florida from 2014 to 2018. Harlan has held multiple NCAA committee appointments on various boards throughout his career.
Jeff Long
Long currently doesn't work in college athletics. He is still qualified, though, having spent 40 years working in college athletics, splitting time between administration and coaching. Long spends his time as a consultant for ISE and Trenchcoat Advisors. He was on the College Football Playoff committee from 2014 to 2018, even serving as the initial chair in the 2014-15 season. Long has experience working with the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and SEC.
Ivan Maisel
Maisel is known for being a sportswriter, and has covered college football for four decades. He previously worked at ESPN and helped launch On3. Maisel was given the Bert McGrane Award by the FWAA, which is considered the organization's Hall of Fame.
Chris Massaro
Massaro is the current athletic director at Middle Tennessee State University. He has spent 20 years in the role, and is the fifth-longest tenured AD in the FBS. Massaro played football at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned his bachelor's degree.
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Mike Riley
Mike Riley is a former head football coach, most recently at Nebraska and Oregon State. After spending nearly two decades as an assistant head coach, Riley was Oregon State's head coach from 1997-1998. He then spent three seasons as the San Diego Chargers head coach, where he went 14-34. He returned to Oregon State and was there from 2003-2014. He went 93-80 overall with the Beavers.
He spent three seasons at Nebraska from 2015-17, but he was fired with a 19-19 overall record.
David Sayler
David Sayler has served as Miami University's athletic director since 2012 after previous stops at South Dakota and Rice. As the Redhawks' AD, he has led Miami to 56 conference championships.
He has served on the CFP selection committee since March 2023.
Wesley Walls
Walls was an All-American tight end at the University of Mississippi in 1988. He converted to offense after beginning his career at Ole Miss as a linebacker and defensive end. Walls was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
He had a 14-year professional career, spending time with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers. Walls still owns the record for most receiving touchdowns for a tight end in Panthers history.
Carla Williams
Carla Williams joined the selection committee in 2024. She has been the University of Virginia's athletic director since 2017. Prior to her arrival at UVA, she spent 2004-2017 at the University of Georgia in various administrative roles.
Hunter Yurachek -- Chair
Hunter Yuracheck was appointed to the CFP selection committee in 2024. He has been Arkansas' athletic director since 2017, serving as the AD at his previous stops at Coastal Carolina from 2010-15 and Houston from 2015-17.
Randall McDaniel
Randall McDaniel has had a prolific college and NFL career. In college, he played guard for Arizona State and was a four-year starter. He helped lead the Sun Devils to a Rose Bowl win in 1987 over Michigan. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
After ASU, he spent 14 seasons in the NFL, playing the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted him in the first round. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and is a member of the Vikings Ring of Honor. He was selected to the CFP selection committee in 2024.
McDaniel decided to step down from the committee for the 2025 season. He cited personal reasons in his decision. With the college football season underway, he wasn't replaced. McDaniel is slated to return to the committee for the 2026-2027 season.