USC's Pat Haden steps down from CFP Selection Committee

For the second straight year, a prominent member of the College Football Playoff selection committee will step down due to health reasons, as Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the CFP, today announced that USC Athletic Director Pat Haden will no longer be a part of the committee this season.

Archie Manning resigned from the CFP selection committee last season.

“I am reluctant to step down, but my doctors advised me to reduce my traveling,” said Haden, director of athletics at the University of Southern California.  “With the weekly CFP meetings about to start and the travel commitment involved, I had to make this difficult decision.  I feel it is in the best interest of the CFP and also of USC, with our current football coaching change and our upcoming Coliseum renovation.”

 “It was an honor to serve on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee," said Haden. " I have such high regard for the CFP process and for the committee members, who devote such time and energy to the great sport of college football.  It was a pleasure to serve alongside them.  I want to thank the committee members, as well as CFP executive director Bill Hancock and his staff.  They all do wonderful work.”

Haden was serving the second year of a two-year term on the CFP selection committee.

“We will miss Pat,” Hancock said. “He knows and loves college football and brought excellent insight to the process, but we all understand.”

The committee will now have 12 members for the rest of the season. The group will issue its first rankings Tuesday, November 3, and will also issue rankings on four more Tuesdays before Selection Day, Sunday, December 6.

The big question for Pac-12 fans is with Haden now gone from the proceedings, will there still be a strong voice lobbying for inclusion of the Pac-12 champion into the playoff system?

Pac-12 teams face several hurdles some other power conferences do not, including a nine-game conference schedule,  a highly competitive league almost top to bottom, and the dreaded East Coast bias factor where many league games are simply not seen due to late starting times.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott today issued the following statement on Pat Haden:

"I want to thank Pat for his service to the College Football Playoff Committee. He brought extremely valuable expertise and institutional knowledge to the process, and helped usher in a great new chapter for college football as part of the inaugural selection committee.

I fully support Pat's decision given his doctor's recommendation and his campus priorities. I am confident in the 12 remaining committee members to represent the best in all of college football and to select the best teams for the playoff."

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services