It’s been long known that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a supporter of Cardinal Athletics. Now, the Graduate School of Business professor and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution is ready to make her mark on the national college football landscape as well.
The Associated Press reported Friday that Rice will be part of the 12- to 18-member College Football Playoff selection committee, which will be tasked with choosing the four teams that will play for the national championship at season’s end beginning with the 2014 season. The new playoff system will replace the controversial Bowl Championship Series (BCS) next year.
Among the other rumored committee members whose names Cardinal fans may recognize are West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck, father of Andrew Luck ’12; Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, who coached for the Badgers in their Rose Bowl loss to Stanford in January; and USC Athletic Director Pat Haden, who recently fired struggling head coach Lane Kiffin.
Of the seven committee members that were reported Friday, Rice is the only woman. She is also the only one who has not served as a college football coach, player or athletic director.
The committee will be officially announced next month.
Rice is known to attend Cardinal women’s basketball games, meet with football recruits and mentor Stanford women’s golfers. Football head coach David Shaw has even said that Rice has the mind of a coach.
For a full report on her involvement in Stanford athletics, see Jana Persky’s feature in The Daily from this March.
Contact Joseph Beyda at jbeyda ‘at’ stanford.edu.