When Iowa athletic director Gary Barta was named as the Chairman of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee last January, most of the writers here at BHGP were skeptical that his tenure as the head of this prestigious body would end triumphantly. My colleague Benjamin Ross called Barta’s appointment “a move that’s dumbfounding to Iowa fans and no one else,” and wrote that “it’s almost impressive to watch a guy who can’t manage his way out of a paper bag fall upwards at the speed of light.” However, many Hawkeye fans still viewed his appointment as a tremendous honor for both the university and the athletic department, as well as a potential boon for an Iowa team that had aspirations of competing for the Big Ten title and being a playoff darkhorse.
Barta’s First Season as CFP Selection Committee Chair a Mixed Bag for College Football, Clear Loss for Big Ten
