Appalachian State athletics director Doug Gillin has been appointed to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, the CFP announced Tuesday.

Gillin will replace Bryan Maggard, who recently left his position as Louisiana’s athletics director to become Missouri’s deputy athletics director and chief operating officer.

“We are pleased to welcome Doug to the selection committee,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in the announcement. “He is a highly respected leader who brings tremendous experience, sound judgment and a deep commitment to college football and student-athletes. We look forward to the contributions he will make as a member of the committee.”

Gillin brings extensive college athletics experience

Gillin is entering his 12th year as Appalachian State’s athletics director. He joined the university in February 2015 during the early stages of the Mountaineers’ transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Sun Belt Conference.

During Gillin’s tenure, Appalachian State developed into one of the most successful programs among schools that recently moved to the FBS level.

The Mountaineers won four consecutive Sun Belt championships from 2016 through 2019. Appalachian State also became the first college football program to win a bowl game in each of its first six eligible FBS seasons from 2015 through 2020.

Appalachian State has recorded 98 football victories since Gillin became athletics director, a total that ranks among the top 15 nationally during that span.

The 2019 Mountaineers finished 13-1 and became the first Sun Belt program and the first FBS program from North Carolina to win 13 games in a season. Appalachian State also finished that year inside the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s final top 25 rankings.

The program later won Sun Belt division titles in 2021 and 2023. Appalachian State earned national attention in 2022 when it defeated No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14 in College Station. ESPN’s “College GameDay” visited Boone for the first time the following week.

Gillin previously served on NCAA football committee

Gillin served on the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee from 2020 through 2023.

He was also named one of four national Under Armour Athletics Directors of the Year for the 2019-20 academic year.

Before joining Appalachian State, Gillin worked as Missouri’s deputy director of athletics from 2012 through 2015. His previous experience also includes positions at Lehigh, New Mexico and Syracuse, along with senior leadership roles at ISP Sports and IMG College from 2002 through 2012.

A native of Binghamton, New York, Gillin played four seasons of ice hockey at SUNY Cortland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from SUNY Cortland in 1991 and later received a master’s degree in physical education from Ohio University.

Role of the CFP Selection Committee

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee is responsible for ranking the nation’s top 25 teams.

Committee members begin meeting in person in early November and release updated rankings each week leading into the final College Football Playoff selections.

The CFP uses a 12-team playoff format that includes conference champions and the highest-ranked remaining teams selected by the committee. First-round games are played on campus sites before the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds rotate among the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

The 2026 season’s national championship game is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.