ACC issues statement on new CFP executive director Richard Clark

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips issued a statement of support of Lieutenant General Clark on Friday afternoon. He’ll be the new Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, as Bill Hancock is stepping down and retiring after overseeing college football’s postseason playoffs for the past 18 years.

Check out the statement from Jim Phillips below on the ACC Football’s Twitter page.

pic.twitter.com/wyQrkNwDS1

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 10, 2023

ACC Commissioner statement on new CFP Executive Director

His statement reads: “Lieutenant General Clark is an individual of outstanding integrity and will be an incredible leader and advocate for college football and the College Football Playoff. There is great anticipation surrounding the future of the College Football Playoff and I look forward to working with Lieutenant General Clark and my colleagues continue the tremendous success of this remarkable organization. As we welcome Lieutenant General Clark, we celebrate Bill Hancock and his service to not only the CFP but his 50-year distinguished career to collegiate athletics.”

As Air Force Academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark assumes the role of new executive director of the College Football Playoff, the former standout college football linebacker begins to steward an increasingly lucrative postseason property amid seismic change.

College football is on the brink of unbridled professionalization, and much of what we’ll see in that new model will play out in the sport’s new-look postseason – where it is broadcast, where the dollars flow and how much power the CFP will wield.

It’s a brave new world – and Clark is expected to be the face of the postseason tournament for the nation’s clear-cut second-most-popular sport, behind only the NFL.

The venerable Bill Hancock, 73, is retiring after overseeing college football’s postseason, beginning as administrator of the Bowl Championship Series, for the past 18 years. Genuine, collegial and transparent, Hancock was impossible not to like. And he was the face of a postseason that, at times, was impossible to fully embrace. It was riddled with imperfections.

Now comes a whole new age before us.

Monumental tournament expansion, tripling the number of participants to 12 teams. The dawn of true super conferences begins next year, along with a Power Four conference world. The 108-year-old Pac-12 will be no more. The Big Ten (18), ACC (17), Big 12 (16) and SEC (16) will all boast at least 16 teams, with the Big Ten and ACC standing as true coast-to-coast conferences.

The broadcast space continues to change before our eyes, as cord-cutting persists and the viewing habits of Gen Zers stand in stark contrast to that of older generations. Big Tech streaming partners like Amazon are now major players in rights deals. 

There are two years remaining on ESPN’s current contract with the College Football Playoff. The expanded event could fetch upwards of $2 billion in its new long-term media rights deal for 2026 and beyond, perhaps with multiple partners. 

And that revenue pie will grow ever larger at a time when almost all forces are incrementally moving – albeit slowly – toward a revenue-sharing model in which at least some athletes can finally enjoy a slice of the enormous broadcast rights pie. 

On3’s Alex Weber also contributed to this article.