Former Cal and Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford has been appointed to the College Football Playoff selection committee, which ranks the Top 25 teams each week down the stretch of the season and assigns the Top 12 to a playoff bracket following conference championship games.
Tedford was appointed to the committee along with Louisiana athletics director Bryan Maggard and former Arkansas State, Auburn and UCF coach Gus Malzahn. They replace Chris Ault, Jeff Long and David Saylor, whose 3-year terms on the committee had expired.
The CFP also announced that Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek will serve as the selection committee chair for a second year in a row.
“The additions of Bryan Maggard, Gus Malzahn and Jeff Tedford will introduce strong, fresh perspectives to the selection committee as we enter our 13th season,” Rich Clark, executive director for the CFP, said in a press release. “Each brings a deep understanding of the game, a genuine passion for college football and a commitment to integrity and excellence. Their diverse backgrounds as university leaders, recent coaches and former student-athletes will complement our returning members and allow for a seamless transition.”
The CFP selection committee uses game film, data analytics and conference input in its rankings, which might be a relief to Tedford. In 2004, his 10-1 Cal team was left out of the Rose Bowl when a Bowl Championship Series system that utilized computer rankings and Top 25 polls and preceded the CFP elevated Texas past the Golden Bears after the season. Some not too subtle lobbying by Texas coach Mark Brown to get a boost in the polls also played a role, and the Associated Press ended up demanding that its Top 25 be removed from the BCS formula
The CFP selection committee, which includes 13 members, does not utilize the AP Poll, coaches poll or computer rankings in its deliberations.
It includes six sitting athletics directors, six at-large members including four former coaches and two former players and one former media member.
Tedford retired from coaching prior to the 2024 season, finishing with a 127-79 record between Cal and Fresno State, his alma mater. He led two remarkable turnarounds, first inheriting a Cal program in 2002 that was coming off a 1-10 season and going 10-2 and hitting No 4 in the AP Top 24 in just his third season.
The turnaround at Fresno State came more quickly. Tedford took a team that had finished 1-11 in 2016 and finished 10-4 and then 12-2 with a Mountain West Conference championship in his first two seasons. He became the first coach in NCAA history to take a 1-win team and win 10 or more games in his first two seasons.
Tedford made history again in 2022 when the Bulldogs became the first college football team to rebound from a 1-4 start and win 10 games in a season, and last season was inducted into the school’s Ring of Honor.
Former Fresno State head football coach Jeff Tedford waves to the audience during halftime of the game against San Diego State Saturday, Oct. 24, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
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