Nikias to head college football playoff board


By
 in , ,

College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock announced Monday that starting Feb. 1, university President C. L. Max Nikias will be the Chairman of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.

Nikias will replace former University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman due to a combination of Perlman’s retirement this upcoming summer, and for Nikias’s pivotal role in the playoff committee during the 2015-2016 season.

“Nikias has been instrumental in the development and growth of the College Football Playoff,” Hancock said in the CFP’s press release. “We appreciate his leadership and continued support. He is highly respected by his fellow presidents and chancellors and he will be an excellent chair.”

With one representative from each NCAA Division I FBS conference, Nikias was a natural choice as the chairman of the Playoff Committee after USC Athletic Director and Pac-12 representative Pat Haden stepped down from his position on the CFP selection committee.

As the chairman and member of the Board of Managers, Nikias will be responsible for leading the Board of Managers and helping to govern the College Football Playoff’s business, property and affairs. The board works to create annual budgets and develop general procedures.

Among the Board of Managers are: Rodney Bennett, University of Southern Mississippi president (C-USA); Anthony Frank, Colorado State University president (Mountain West); Burns Hargis, Oklahoma State University president (Big 12); Jack Hawkins, Troy University chancellor (Sun Belt); Rev. John Jenkins, University of Notre Dame president (Independent), Mark Keenum, Mississippi State University president (SEC), Roderick McDavis, Ohio University president (MAC); Harvey Perlman, University of Nebraska chancellor (Big Ten); John Thrasher, Florida State University president (ACC); and Steadman Upham,  University of Tulsa president (American Athletic).

Although Nikias has not held any positions of responsibility in terms of sports, he has held positions of authority in the USC education system.

Since he was hired at USC in 1991, Nikias has been instrumental in many facets of USC education, serving as a professor, director of national research centers, dean, provost and president along with holding the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair, the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in Technology and the Humanities, the USC Health System Board Chair and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Chair.

With spring football on the horizon though, Nikias and the College Football Playoff Board of Managers will be busy at work preparing for next season.