The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Del Conte named to College Football Playoff Selection Committee
01.26.2021 | Football, Texas Athletics
UT Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte has been appointed as one of five new members to the committee.
IRVING, Texas – The College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee has appointed UT Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte as one of five new members of the CFP Selection Committee, it was announced today by Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the CFP.
Joining Del Conte as new members will be Mitch Barnhart, athletics director at the University of Kentucky; Boo Corrigan, athletics director at North Carolina State University; Will Shields, former All-American lineman at the University of Nebraska; and Joe Taylor, longtime coach and currently athletics director at Virginia Union University. The new members will begin three-year terms starting this spring. They will replace Joe Castiglione, Ken Hatfield, Ronnie Lott, Todd Stansbury and Scott Stricklin, whose terms have expired.
"Mitch, Boo, Chris, Will and Joe will continue the integrity that has been the committee's hallmark through our seven seasons," Hancock said. "Their knowledge, experience and character, along with their love of the sport of college football, will make the transition seamless."
"We are pleased that Gary will return as chair," Hancock added. "He was a valuable leader as the committee navigated a unique and challenging year. We look forward to him working with the other 12 members in what we hope will be a more traditional season in 2021."
Chris Del Conte has served as vice president and athletics director at the University of Texas since December 2017. During his time in Austin, Del Conte has spearheaded a number of facility projects designed to expand amenities for student-athletes and enhance the coaches offices, along with providing a number of improvements and additions to gameday fan experiences for football, baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, swimming & diving and track & field.
Before arriving in Austin, Del Conte served as director of athletics at Texas Christian University for eight years, where he oversaw the school's entrance into the Big 12 Conference. From 2006-09 Del Conte served at the director of athletics at Rice University. Prior to Rice, Del Conte was the senior associate athletics director for external operations and sports programs at the University of Arizona (2000-06). Del Conte also served as an assistant athletics director for external operations at both Washington State (1998-99) and Cal Poly (1994-98).
Del Conte received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from UC Santa Barbara, where he was a track and field student-athlete, and a master's degree in education, administration and supervision from Washington State.
The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games as well as ranking the other top 25 teams. The committee meets in-person beginning late in the football season and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week leading up to its final selections. For more information on the selection committee, visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com.
About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One. This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and the Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Indiana.
