June 16, 2021

IRVING, Texas – The College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee has appointed Rod West to the CFP Selection Committee, it was announced today by Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the CFP.

West will replace General Ray Odierno, who is stepping down for health reasons after two years on the committee.

“General Odierno was a terrific member and we are sorry to lose him,” Hancock said. “But Rod West will fit right in. He knows the game, he loves the game, and he will share the other members’ dedication to selecting the right teams.”

“Serving with the other committee members was a great honor,” Odierno said. “I treasured the opportunity as we all gave back to the game we love so much. The committee has an excellent process and a strong base of integrity and I know they will continue to do good work in the future.”

West, group president, utility operations for Entergy Corporation, is responsible for the operational and financial performance of Entergy’s five operating companies. West lettered three years as linebacker and tight end at the University of Notre Dame, including the Fighting Irish’s 1988 National Championship football team, and is a past president of the Allstate Sugar Bowl and a member of the board of directors for the National Football Foundation.

“I am honored to have been invited to join the College Football Playoff Selection Committee,” said West. “It is an exciting time for college football, and I look forward to upholding the high standards of the CFP with the distinguished group of individuals who make up the selection committee.”

Rod West was named group president, utility operations for Entergy Corporation in 2017. Entergy is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations and related services for three million customers in four states in the U.S. Gulf South. As President and CEO of Entergy New Orleans from 2007-2010, West led Entergy New Orleans out of its post-hurricane Katrina bankruptcy and back to profitability. 

West currently serves as a Hesburgh Trustee at the University of Notre Dame, after serving a decade on the board of trustees (2009-19). Previously, he also served twelve years on the Louisiana State University System Board of Supervisors, serving as chairperson from 2006-2007, and three years on the board at Xavier University of Louisiana. 

West holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. He received his Juris Doctor from the Tulane University School of Law and his MBA from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business.

The CFP selection committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games as well as ranking the other top 25 teams. 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 current selection committee members are Mitch Barnhart (athletics director, University of Kentucky), Gary Barta (athletics director, University of Iowa) (Chair), Paola Boivin (professor, Arizona State University), Tom Burman (athletics director, University of Wyoming), Charlie Cobb (athletics director, Georgia State University), Boo Coorigan (athletics director, North Carolina State University), Chris Del Conte (athletics director, University of Texas at Austin), Rick George (athletics director, University of Colorado), Will Shields (former All-American offensive lineman, University of Nebraska), R.C. Slocum (former head coach, Texas A&M University), Joe Taylor (Vice President for Athletics and Community Wellness, Virginia Union University), Rod West (group president Entergy Corporation), John Urschel (former All-American offensive lineman, Penn State University). For more information on the selection committee, visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com. 

About the College Football PlayoffThe College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 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. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and the Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

College Football Playoff

545 East John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 1025

Irving, Texas 75062  

#CFBPlayoff

www.collegefootballplayoff.com

COURTESY THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF