College Football Playoff director Bill Hancock announces plans to retire at end of contract

Bill Hancock will see his contract as the College Football Playoff Executive Director expire on Feb. 1, 2025. Once it does, Hancock will step down from the position and move in a different direction. Hancock has been with the CFP since its evolution back in 2012.

“My time at the CFP has been a dream come true,” the statement read. “I cherish what I do and the folks I get to work with. And I do love college football. Now I will run through the tape, as the track coaches say, and then I will enjoy whatever next steps are waiting for Nicki and me.”

Hancock will oversee just two more editions of the College Football Playoff. This year’s will once again feature four teams, as it has been for nearly a decade. We will then move to 12 teams, beginning a new era in college football. Once the transition is complete and hopefully successful, Hancock will give the reigns to someone else.

“The plan was established several years ago for me to notify the CFP Board of Managers a year in advance if I decided to step aside, in order to provide ample time to plan a smooth transition to the next executive director,” Bill Hancock said. “I’m advising the board now, so the new executive director will have a long on-ramp, as he or she prepares to guide the CFP into the 12-team era.”

Hancock has been around college athletics for quite some time and held some significant positions. He was the full-time director of the NCAA Men’s Final Four for 16 years. Eventually, the BCS hired Hancock as their administrator before the College Football Playoff came calling.

In the past three iterations of how college football has determined a national champion, Hancock has played a major role in all of them. So when somebody new takes over in early 2025, it will be a new era for the sport. No matter who the College Football Playoff hires, there will be some big shoes to fill.

“We look forward to the next year under Bill’s leadership and many opportunities to recognize what he has done for the playoff,” Keenum said. “We will initiate a national search for a new executive director to take over when he steps away, and I anticipate Bill will shift to a new role with the CFP in 2024 to help with the transition to our new executive director.