Hall of Famer Jeff Bower joins CFP playoff committee

Posted on: January 21,2016

Jeff Bower

Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer Jeff Bower (Class of 2009) has been named to the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee, CFP executive director Bill Hancock announced today.
“I am excited about it, and I am looking forward to it,” Bower said. “I know it’s a lot of work, a lot of travel, but I look forward to being involved in the process.
Bower joined Lloyd Carr, Herb Deromedi and Rob Mullens as new members of the selection committee, replacing Mike Gould, Pat Haden, Tom Osborne and Mike Tranghese. The new members begin a three-year term this spring.
“We are delighted that Jeff, Lloyd, Herb and Rob are joining the committee,” Hancock said. “Throughout the selection process, it was essential that the four new members have an in-depth knowledge and passion for college football. Each of these four fit that description perfectly. They will continue the high integrity of the committee.”
Jeff Bower spent 29 years at Southern Miss as a quarterback, assistant coach and head coach. He led the Golden Eagles to 14 straight winning seasons, and four Conference USA championships – in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2003 – and six bowl victories. He was a three-time C-USA coach-of-the-year and, in 2004, the conference named him “Coach of the Decade.”
He was inducted into the Southern Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Former Michigan head coach (1995-2007), Lloyd Carr, brings decades of coaching and playing experience to the committee. He led the Wolverines to a share of the 1997 national championship, five Big Ten titles (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004) and six bowl victories. Carr finished his career in Ann Arbor with 122 wins, third most in school history. His extensive award list includes AFCA Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year and the George Munger and Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards.
Herb Deromedi spent 38 years at Central Michigan University and retired as the winningest coach in Mid-American Conference history with an overall record of 110-55-10. Named MAC Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1990, Deromedi led the Chippewas as head coach from 1978 to 1993. During that span, CMU won its conference championship in 1979, 1980 and 1990.
He served as director of athletics at Central Michigan from 1994-2006 and chaired the NCAA Football Rules Committee in 2003. He has also served on the Football Issues Committee and was a Harris Poll voter. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan.
Rob Mullens, director of athletics at the University of Oregon, has guided the Ducks to tremendous success both on and off the field. Since being appointed in 2010, Oregon had its best finish ever in the Directors’ Cup, a national assessment of an athletic department’s overall achievements. In addition, Oregon now averages more than 100 academic all-conference selections annually.
The CFP Selection Committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games as well as placing the next group of teams in the remaining New Year’s bowls. The Committee meets in-person beginning midway through the football season and produces a weekly ranking of the top 25 teams leading up to its final selections.