Former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio is one of five new College Football Playoff selection committee members named to the 13-member group tasked with ranking the top 25 teams that ultimately are considered for the 12-team field this fall.
The CFP announced Tuesday that Dantonio will join Maryland athletic director Damon Evans, former ESPN college football reporter Ivan Maisel, Middle Tennessee State AD Chris Massaro and former Ole Miss All-America tight end Wesley Walls in the incoming class.
The CFP also asked former USA Today sportswriter Steve Wieberg, who served on the CFP selection committee 2014-2017, to return for a one-year term. He will replace former coach Gary Pinkel, who has stepped down after one year with the group because of other commitments.
"The additions of Mark, Damon, Ivan, Chris and Wesley will bring some great new voices to the selection committee as we enter our 12th season," CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a prepared statement. "Each of them has tremendous knowledge, passion and dedication to college football, along with outstanding character and integrity. Their skills and wide variety of experiences -- from coaches and athletes to university leaders and journalists -- will ensure that they will transition in with our returning members successfully. We also appreciate Steve returning for the upcoming season. His understanding and wisdom from his previous term will be a real benefit to the group."
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades, who is entering his second year with the group, will replace outgoing committee member and Michigan AD Warde Manuel as the committee chair.
"I am truly honored to be asked to serve as chair of the selection committee," Rhoades said in a prepared statement. "It was a privilege to join such a dedicated group of individuals last year, and I look forward to continuing that work again this fall. Each and every member of the committee is passionate about college football and focused on ensuring the integrity and excellence of the playoff process."
The new members will begin their three-year terms this spring and will also replace Navy AD Chet Gladchuk, former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, former Nebraska offensive lineman and NFL Hall of Famer Will Shields, and former sportswriter Kelly Whiteside, whose terms have expired.
Dantonio, who retired from Michigan State in 2020, served as the head coach at Cincinnati (2004-06) and Michigan State (2007-19), compiling a career record of 132-74. In his 13 seasons at Michigan State, he led the Spartans to 12 bowl games, three Big Ten titles and a berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff. His 114 career wins in East Lansing made him the winningest head coach in Michigan State history, and in 2015, he became the first head coach in the Big Ten to win at least 11 games in five of six seasons. Dantonio was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Michigan State Ring of Honor in 2024.
Evans is in his seventh year as Maryland's AD. He was hired by the Terps in 2014 as executive athletic director and chief financial officer. During Evans' 11-year tenure at Maryland, the Terrapins have won 49 Big Ten championships and tournament titles, the third most of any conference school during that span, and seven national championships. He also served as the director of athletics at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2010. A four-year starter on Georgia's football team, Evans played in three bowl games under coach Vince Dooley.
Maisel has over four decades of experience covering college football, most recently at On3 Media, which he helped launch in 2021 before spending two years writing for the website. He began covering national college football in 1987 for the Dallas Morning News, then moved to Newsday in 1994. He rejoined Sports Illustrated in 1997, 10 years after his earlier stint there. In 2002, ESPN hired him as its first college football writer.
Maisel's work at ESPN included coverage through podcasts, radio appearances and multimedia projects. He played a key role in launching ESPN's College Football Daily podcast and served as the editor-at-large of ESPN College Football 150, the multiplatform project commemorating the 2019 sesquicentennial of the sport.
Massaro has spent the past 20 years as athletic director at Middle Tennessee State University, the fifth-longest-tenured athletic director in the FBS. Under his leadership, the Blue Raiders have won 87 conference championships (45 in the Sun Belt and 42 in Conference USA) and three individual national championships. The 42 CUSA titles is the most by any school since the Blue Raiders entered the league in 2013. Massaro earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Colorado, where he was a five-year football team member.
As a senior at Ole Miss in 1988, Walls was an All-American as a tight end after excelling as a linebacker and defensive end his first three seasons in Oxford. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Returning committee members include longtime Nevada athletic director and coach Chris Ault, former Arizona State All-American offensive lineman Randall McDaniel, former Oregon State and Nebraska coach Mike Riley, Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler, Virginia athletic director Carla Williams, and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek.
The current group will include five former players/coaches, six sitting athletic directors representing the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, C-USA and Mid-American Conference, and two former sportswriters.