Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro will represent the Mountain West Conference as a newly appointed member of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.
The board governs College Football Playoff business, property and affairs. The board develops, reviews and approves annual budgets, policies and operating guidelines. It has authority over all aspects of the company’s operations.
“We are grateful to have President Castro join the group,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “He is an engaging leader and a forward-thinker, and he will be a great addition.”
Castro is one of 11 university presidents on the board, which represents the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame. The Mountain West was previously represented by Dr. Tony Frank, the former president of the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, who now serves as chancellor for the Colorado State University system.
“I am pleased to represent the Mountain West Conference on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers,” Castro said. “I look forward to working with the other university presidents on the board to ensure that the College Football Playoff functions effectively.”
The board is chaired by Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State, and also includes:
- Joseph I. Castro, president, Fresno State (Mountain West)
- Eric Barron, president, Penn State (Big Ten)
- Rodney Bennett, president, Southern Mississippi (Conference USA)
- Greg Fenves, president, Texas (Big 12)
- Jack Hawkins, president, Troy (Sun Belt)
- John Jenkins, president, Notre Dame (independent)
- Kirk Schulz, president, Washington State (Pac 12)
- John Thrasher, president, Florida State (ACC)
- Satish Tripahi, president, Buffalo (Mid-American Conference)
- Gerald Turner, president, Southern Methodist (American Athletic Conference)
The College Football Playoff matches the top four national seeds at the end of the season in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games — the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual.
This season’s playoff semifinals will be Dec. 28 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Last season, Clemson defeated Alabama 44-16 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in the national championship.
For more information on the College Football Playoff, visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com.
Fresno State football kicks off Aug. 31
In the Mountain West preseason polls, the Fresno State football team was picked to three-peat as West Division champions by the media. Fresno State won the Mountain West championship game last season, defeating Boise State in Boise, 19-16 in overtime. The Bulldogs went on to beat the Pac 12’s Arizona State 31-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl – giving Fresno State 12 wins in a season for the first time in program history.
Fresno State was ranked No. 21 in the final College Football Playoff rankings last season, establishing the University as one of just five institutions nationwide ranked both among the top 25 national universities by Washington Monthly and among the top 25 football programs.
The Bulldogs are now 22-6 in two seasons under coach Jeff Tedford, a Fresno State alumnus, and will open the season Aug. 31 at USC before hosting Minnesota at Bulldog Stadium on Sept. 7.
For more information, or to buy tickets, visit www.gobulldogs.com.
