Michael Kelly named COO for college football playoff.

An ACC guy.

One of our own. And a genuinely nice guy.

And relevant to Duke, since Duke is going to be playing in the playoffs. :)

From press release.

"Michael Kelly Named COO of New College Football Playoff

Top Priority is Transition to New Playoff in 2014-2015 Season

The group that will oversee the new college football playoff and national championship game announced today that Michael Kelly will be the group’s chief operating officer. Kelly is currently a Senior Associate Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has served the league since 2007.

He is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he worked as the Director of Athletic Operations and Facilities and also was the Associate Athletic Director at the University of South Florida. In addition, he has served as President of three Super Bowl host committees.

“We are committed to making the new college football playoff the best it can be, and I am delighted that Michael will be helping us achieve that. His experience with the NCAA Final Four, Super Bowl and ACC Championship make him the perfect person. Plus, he is bright and energetic and has a great way of working with people,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the BCS and the college football playoff.

“College football is one of the best sports in our country, and the new playoff will make it even better. I am extremely grateful to have been chosen for this position, and can’t wait to get started. We have a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we will deliver a top-flight event for student-athletes, fans, and all those who love this game,” said Michael Kelly.

Hancock, who was named executive director of the new playoff on Monday, will manage a small staff that will have operational responsibility for putting on the championship game and running the new playoff. The COO’s responsibilities will include many of the strategic, business, marketing, sponsorship and other logistical tasks that the new playoff will demand.

John Swofford, Commissioner of the ACC, added, "I am excited for both Michael and the BCS. He is an excellent choice for this position and he will do an outstanding job, just as he has done for the ACC."

The group announced in June that the new college football playoff format would begin with the 2014-2015 season, and announced more plans in Denver this week, giving itself adequate time to transition from the current system. The group continues to work on remaining issues including:

· Creation of a selection committee that will rank the teams to play in the playoff, giving all the teams an equal opportunity to participate. Among the factors the committee will value are win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and if a team is a conference champion.
· Identifying the cities that will host the national championship game.

· Identifying the bowls which will host the playoff semi-final games.

· Naming of the new event.

· Finalizing the television contract."