You'll be seeing a whole lot more of Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens next fall.
Mullens on Wednesday was named the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, a role that brings with it the prominent -- and often unenviable -- task of explaining the committee's rankings to a weekly ESPN audience during the latter half of the college football season.
Mullens has served as Oregon's AD since 2010 and joined the selection committee two years ago. He will follow outgoing chairman Kirby Hocutt, the athletic director of Texas Tech.
"College football plays a vital role in intercollegiate athletics, and it is an honor to continue to serve on the CFP Selection Committee," Mullens said in a news release. "I look forward to partnering with the other committee members and the staff to build on the strong foundation which has been created in the first four years of the CFP."
Mullens will guide a committee with six new faces next season. New members include Georgia Tech and former Oregon State athletic director Todd Stansbury; former Arizona Republic columnist Paola Boivin; Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione; former Rice, Air Force, Arkansas and Clemson coach Ken Hatfield; former USC and NFL safety Ronnie Lott; and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin.
As the public face of the body that chooses the playoff's four teams, the chairman role is one of the most powerful, and scrutinized, in college athletics.
Jeff Long, the former Arkansas athletic director who was the selection committee chair from 2014-15, said the public-facing duties of the job were difficult.
"The toughest for me, personally, is sitting there with an earpiece in, staring at a camera lens and talking with (ESPN's) Rece Davis," Long said to Bleacher Report in 2014. "I get a question, and I have to very quickly put it into the context of how the committee would feel about it."
As chair, Hocutt said he had two major responsibilities.
"One is working with (playoff director) Bill Hancock to set our agenda, to facilitate our discussions, make sure we stay within our protocol," Hocutt told the Oklahoman in October. Then the media obligations. The media responsibility takes additional time."
The chair is a full member of the selection committee, and Hocutt said he felt it was his job "to make sure there is productive debate and discussion that's natural. That happens, with the selection committee. ... The debate is a place I can offer my opinion in the discussions and at the same balance my responsibilities as a chair."
-- Andrew Greif
agreif@oregonian.com
@andrewgreif