Some of the great staffers at the physical therapy place that's like my second home again and I got to talking about the college football playoffs the other day. I mean, after we exhausted the topic of my new metal knee.
We talked about the playoffs and the likelihood that Alabama wouldn't be invited to participate, so as to make room for a traditional powerhouse team, Southern Methodist U.
And, I mentioned that when the College Football Playoff series began in 2014, former Secretary of State and noted college football fan Condoleezza Rice was on the selection committee along with 12 others.
Remember, in those days before a championship system was put in place, you had people arguing all through the off-season that their team should have been recognized as the nation's best "because we won the Tostitos Bowl last year."
Ms Rice and the dozen others were tasked with choosing four teams to play in the national semifinals and seed them accordingly, with the winners of two preliminary bowl games meeting for the official national championship.
Her expertise was garnered by being the daughter of a football coach, a lifelong Alabama and Cleveland Browns fan, and through her supervision of Stanford University athletics during her days as that school's provost.
On the selection committee, she served alongside such football luminaries as former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne, former quarterback Archie Manning, Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden, and former Stanford and Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham.
There is an entirely different system now, so keep an eye on the bowl games to see who advances to the championship game. Condoleezza Rice will be watching, as will the the Crimson Tide of Alabama.
No comments:
Post a Comment