Tedford named to CFP Selection Committee

IRVING, Texas - Former Fresno State football head coach Jeff Tedford has been named to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, announced by the organization on Monday. Tedford is joined by Byan Maggard and Guz Malzahn as new members who will begin their three-year terms this spring.

Tedford stands as one of Fresno State's most influential figures, both as a record-setting quarterback and as a head coach who revitalized the program. Over two head coaching stints in five years, he amassed a 45-22 overall record and four bowl wins. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs achieved three 10‑win seasons, three West Division titles, two Mountain West titles, four bowl games and two AP Top‑25 finishes.

First taking over the program in 2017, Tedford led the Bulldogs to a double-digit winning season that year after a double-digit losing season the year prior. He did it again in 2018, posting the program's winningest record with a 12-2 season as the Bulldogs claimed the Mountain West Championship title and the Las Vegas Bowl win. Tedford led Fresno State to becoming the first team in FBS history to secure back-to-back double-digit win seasons following a double-digit loss season.

The history-making didn't stop there as Tedford stepped away following the 2019 season due to health concerns, but would see a return to the helm just two years later. Back as head coach in 2022, more history was set as Fresno State became the first FBS program to start the season 1-4 and finish with 10 wins that season. Fresno State closed the 2022 season with nine-straight wins to end the year with a 10-4 record, highlighted by a Mountain West Championship title and a dominant 29-6 win over Washington State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.

The Bulldogs pushed the winning streak to 14 games into the 2023 season, the second-longest winning streak in program history.

In his time as head coach, he developed four NFL Draft picks, one Mountain West Player of the Year and several all-conference selections. Tedford also put an emphasis on academics, increasing the number of MW All-Academic selections each year including a program-record 53 selections in 2022.

Tedford's coaching accolades include 2017 MW Coach of the Year, AFCA Region-5 Coach of the Year, and George Minger Collegiate Coach of the Year semifinalist. He was a two-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (2017, 2018). He was also a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award in 2018.

Tedford was officially inducted into the Fresno State Ring of Honor on October 25, 2025.

Prior to his head coaching stints at Fresno State, he was the head coach at Cal and still stands as that program's all-time winningest coach.

"The additions of Bryan Maggard, Gus Malzahn and Jeff Tedford will introduce strong, fresh perspectives to the selection committee as we enter our 13th season," CFP Executive Director Rich Clark said in the CFP release. "Each brings a deep understanding of the game, a genuine passion for college football and a commitment to integrity and excellence. Their diverse backgrounds as university leaders, recent coaches and former student-athletes will complement our returning members and allow for a seamless transition."

The CFP selection committee is responsible for ranking the 25 teams in the playoff and assigning the top 12 participants to the playoff bracket. Using a combination of game film, data analytics and conference input, 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 composition of the committee is intended to balance technical football expertise, industry knowledge and independent judgement. With these three new members, the current committee consists of six sitting ADs, six at-large members (represented by four former head coaches and two former players) and one former media member. The other returning selection committee members are Troy Dannen (athletics director, University of Nebraska), Mark Dantonio (former head coach, University of Cincinnati and Michigan State), Mark Harlan (athletics director, University of Utah), Ivan Maisel (former sportswriter for The Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, the Dallas Morning News, Newsday, ESPN and On3), Chris Massaro (athletics director, Middle Tennessee State), Randall McDaniel (former All-American offensive lineman, Arizona State University), Mike Riley (former head coach, Oregon State University and the University Nebraska), Wesley Walls (former All-American tight end from Ole Miss), Carla Williams (athletics director, University of Virginia; and Hunter Yurachek (athletics director, University of Arkansas).

Fresno State Athletics

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