NEW ORLEANS – The CFP Management Committee has appointed current Louisiana athletic director Dr. Bryan Maggard and former Arkansas State, Auburn and UCF head coach Gus Malzahn to the CFP Selection Committee, College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark announced on Monday. 
 
Maggard and Malzahn will serve three-year terms on the prestigious committee, spanning the 2026, 2027 and 2028 football seasons. 
 
“The additions of Dr. Bryan Maggard and Gus Malzahn will introduce strong, fresh perspectives to the selection committee as we enter our 13th season,” said Clark. “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.” 
 
Former Cal and Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford was also announced as a new addition to the CFP Selection Committee.
 
“We are thrilled to have a pair of representatives with Sun Belt ties in current Louisiana athletic director Dr. Bryan Maggard and former Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn join the CFP Selection Committee,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “Bryan—who has led Louisiana to new heights including eight-straight bowl appearances, five Sun Belt Football Championship game berths, two Sun Belt football titles and six CFP rankings—and Gus—who guided Arkansas State to a Sun Belt football championship during his lone season at the helm—will bring unique perspectives from successful Sun Belt tenures to the CFP Selection Committee in their new roles.” 
 
Maggard is in his 10th year as athletic director at Louisiana, guiding one of the most successful eras in Ragin’ Cajuns history, highlighted by football’s first outright Sun Belt Conference championship in 2021 and both baseball and softball capturing league titles and advancing to NCAA Regionals in 2022. 
 
On the field, Maggard has made key head coaching hires that have shaped sustained success for Louisiana football. He selected Billy Napier in 2017, ushering in a run of four-straight Sun Belt West Division titles and back-to-back conference championships in 2020 and 2021. He tapped former Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback and assistant Michael Desormeaux in 2021, cueing a string of four-straight bowl appearances and a conference-leading fifth berth to the Sun Belt Football Championship game in 2024. Under Maggard’s direction, Louisiana has appeared in eight-straight bowl games—a mark that spans both the Napier and Desormeaux eras and stands as the 10th-longest active streak in the country. 
 
In addition to on-field success, Louisiana had its most successful fundraising year in 2021-22, raising more than $30 million. One of those gifts was $15 million from Our Lady of Lourdes to secure the stadium naming rights for the $65 million stadium renovation project, the largest gift in department history. In 2024, Maggard was appointed to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee.
 
Maggard joined Louisiana following a 22-year tenure at Missouri, where he last served as Executive Associate Athletic Director and played a key role in the Tigers’ transition into the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He also served at both Florida State and Kansas State, overseeing the academic support services for the Seminole and Wildcat football programs, respectively.
 
Maggard earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in health and physical education, both from Kansas State. He received a Ph.D. in Educational and Counseling Psychology from Missouri.
 
Malzahn spent 35 years in the coaching ranks, including 27 years as a head coach at the high school and college levels. 
 
In 14 seasons as a high school head coach, Malzahn went 144-36-1 (.798) with seven state championship game appearances and three state titles (Shiloh Christian in 1998 & 1999 & Springdale in 2005). In 13 seasons as a college head coach, Malzahn went 105-62 (.629) with 12 bowl appearances, two conference championships (Arkansas State in 2012 & Auburn in 2013), two additional conference championship game appearances (Auburn in 2017 & UCF in 2022) and a national championship game appearance (Auburn in 2013). 
 
Malzahn had a decorated career as an offensive coordinator at Arkansas (2006), Tulsa (2007-08), Auburn (2009-11) and Florida State (2025). He earned the 2010 Broyles Award as the nation’s best assistant coach while directing Cam Newton to the Heisman Trophy and Auburn to the school’s first national championship since 1957.
 
Malzahn earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Henderson State in 1990. He began his collegiate career at Arkansas, playing wide receiver for the Razorbacks in 1984 and 1985 before transferring to Henderson State.

The CFP Selection Committee is responsible for ranking the 25 teams in the playoff and assigning the top 12 participants to the playoff bracket. The committee meets in-person beginning late in the football season and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week leading up to its final selections.

The other returning selection committee members are Troy Dannen (athletic director, Nebraska), Mark Dantonio (former head coach, Cincinnati and Michigan State), Mark Harlan (athletic director, Utah), Ivan Maisel (former sportswriter for The Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, the Dallas Morning News, Newsday, ESPN and On3), Chris Massaro (athletic director, Middle Tennessee State), Randall McDaniel (former All-American offensive lineman, Arizona State), Mike Riley (former head coach, Oregon State and Nebraska), Wesley Walls (former All-American tight end, Ole Miss), Carla Williams (athletic director, Virginia) and Hunter Yurachek (athletic director, Arkansas).