Washington has not appeared in the College Football Playoff since 2016.
But now, the Huskies will have a voice in the room.
UW athletic director Jen Cohen has been appointed to the CFP selection committee, executive director Bill Hancock announced Wednesday. Cohen, the Huskies’ athletic director since 2016, will serve a three-year term.
Cohen was appointed alongside former Nevada head coach and athletic director Chris Ault and Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler. They’ll replace Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman, Colorado athletic director Rick George and former Penn State and Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel, whose terms have expired.
“I am incredibly excited to join the College Football Playoff Selection Committee,” Cohen said in a statement. “I’d like to thank Bill and everyone associated with the CFP for this amazing opportunity. Serving on this prestigious committee is a great honor and I can’t wait to get to work to serve all who love college football.”
The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting and seeding the four playoff participants, as well as ranking the top 25 teams. The committee meets in person beginning late in the football season and produces top 25 rankings each week leading into its final CFP selections.
That process will change dramatically in 2024, when the CFP expands to a 12-team model. The expanded playoff will include automatic bids for the top six conference champions in the CFP rankings (which will almost certainly include a Pac-12 representative), and at-large bids for the six highest-ranked remaining teams. Cohen will participate on the selection committee during the first two years of the expanded model.
UW, of course, finished an 11-2 season with a No. 8 national ranking last fall and has Pac-12 title and CFP aspirations in 2023. The Pac-12 has not appeared in the playoff since UW fell 24-7 to Alabama in 2016.
The committee’s returning members are Mitch Barnhart (Kentucky athletic director), Boo Corrigan (NC State athletic director), Chet Gladchuk (Navy athletic director), Jim Grobe (former head coach at Ohio, Wake Forest and Baylor), Warde Manuel (Michigan athletic director), Will Shields (former Nebraska All-American offensive lineman), Gene Taylor (Kansas State athletic director), Joe Taylor (Virginia Union University vice president for athletics and community wellness), Rod West (former Notre Dame linebacker) and Kelly Whiteside (longtime sports writer for USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Newsday).
Now, Cohen — a member of UW’s athletic department for 24 years — is joining the club.