IRVING, Texas – Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff (CFP), announced today that Byron Hatch has been named the CFP’s Chief Operating Officer.
Hatch comes to the CFP from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), where he has been assistant commissioner of championships for six years. During his time with the conference he has overseen the SEC football championship game, men’s basketball tournament and softball tournament.
“We’re delighted that Byron will be joining the CFP team,” Hancock said. “He is an enormously well liked and well-respected creative leader and a good person, too. He will fit right in here.”
In his role, Hatch primarily will be responsible for managing the national championship game and all affiliated events. He will also be the primary liaison with six bowl games that participate in the CFP arrangement, and will also manage the process for selecting sites for the championship games.
“I am excited about this new opportunity for me and my family,” Hatch said. “I look forward to working with the College Football Playoff staff and helping to continue to grow one of the great events in all of sports. I would like to thank Commissioner Sankey and everyone associated with the Southeastern Conference for giving me a platform to grow professionally and develop leadership skills that have led to this next chapter of our lives.”
Prior to joining the SEC, Hatch was the Associate Athletics Director for Business Operations at the University of Arkansas for three years. Following a four-year stint in the accounting and consulting industry, Hatch began his career in sports with a seven-year stint at the NCAA, where he worked in the membership services group before becoming Associate Director of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship where he, was a liaison to the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, worked with host cities, and oversaw a variety of operational matters.
Hatch is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He followed that with his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Bowen School of Law.
Hatch replaces Andrea Williams, who was named Chief Experience Officer with the Utah Jazz.
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About the College Football PlayoffThe College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and the Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
