Ohio State president Kristina Johnson has joined the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.
Johnson replaces Penn State president Eric Barron, who is retiring this year, as the Big Ten’s representative on the Board of Managers, which consists of presidents and chancellors from each of the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences as well as Notre Dame.
“As someone who was afforded significant academic opportunities as a result of my participation in sports, I have long recognized the importance of collegiate athletics and championed access to them for every student who desires it,” Johnson said in an Ohio State release. “I am proud to have played a key role in preserving the 2020 Big Ten Conference fall season at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and am looking forward to continuing my advocacy and working with the other presidents and chancellors on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.”
The Board of Managers is responsible of developing, reviewing and approving annual budgets, policies and operating guidelines for the CFP and has authority over all aspects of the CFP’s operations.
“We are delighted that President Johnson will serve on the Board of Managers,” Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said in a statement. “President Johnson’s experience as a leader in higher education and as a former student-athlete will provide great perspective for the board.”
The Board of Managers is the CFP’s highest level of governance, though the playoff’s day-to-day operations are overseen by the CFP Management Committee, which consists of the commissioners of each of the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick.
“We are grateful to add President Johnson to the College Football Playoff Board of Managers to represent our conference and its 14 world-class member institutions,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said. “President Johnson, who replaces retiring Penn State University President Barron, will make an immediate and profound impact in this critical role as we embrace opportunities related to the College Football Playoff system.”
