New head coach John Calipari of the Arkansas Razorbacks poses with Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The College Football Playoff committee has swiftly moved to name a new chair for the rest of the 2025 college football season following the resignation of Mack Rhoades.
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek will serve as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee for the remainder of the year, the CFP announced on Thursday. Yurachek is in his second season as a member of the CFP committee, beginning his three-year term in February 2024.
To replace Rhoades, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan will rejoin the committee after previously serving a one-year term in 2023.
The CFP committee’s moves to elevate Yurachek and add Harlan came on the same day that Rhoades took a leave of absence for personal reasons amid a university investigation.
“We are deeply appreciative of Mack Rhoades’ leadership and service as Chair of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee this season,” College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark said in a statement. “Mack has informed us of his decision to step down for personal reasons, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this time.
“We are pleased to announce that Hunter Yurachek will assume the role of Selection Committee Chair, effective immediately. Hunter’s experience, integrity, and commitment to the game make him exceptionally well-suited to lead the committee as it continues its important work throughout the remainder of the season.”
New head coach John Calipari of the Arkansas Razorbacks poses with Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Baylor is investigating allegations made against Rhoades. While not going into additional details, Baylor vice president Jason Cook said Thursday that those allegations against Rhoades do not involve Title IX, student-athlete welfare or NCAA rules violations, and do not involve the football program.
Rhoades was the chair of the committee for the first two CFP rankings of the 2025 season, explaining the committee’s process to reporters following both reveals.
Yuracheck is in his eighth full year at Arkansas. He previously worked as the athletic director at Coastal Carolina (2010-15) and Houston (2015-17).
On top of becoming the new CFP committee chair, Yurachek and Arkansas are also in the midst of a head coaching search for its football program. Arkansas fired head coach Sam Pittman in September as the Razorbacks are 2-7 this season.
Harlan, meanwhile, has been Utah’s athletic director since 2018. He has overseen plenty of success across multiple sports since taking over as Utah’s athletic director, with the Utes winning five national championships and 32 conference titles under Harlan’s watch.
Unlike Yurachek’s Arkansas football program, Harlan’s Utah team is in the CFP hunt this season. The Utes are 7-2 and ranked 13th in the latest CFP poll, making them one of the top at-large teams on the bubble.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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COLLEGE STATION – A victory in the 5,000m by Nick Busienei and third place in the distance medley relay had No. 1 Arkansas leading the team score with 18 points on the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships.
The Razorbacks produced 12 of those points in the 5,000m as Nick Busienei won the race in a meet record of 13;31.86, which ranks him No. 7 on the UA all-time list. Busienei bettered the meet record of 13:37.52 set by Razorback Patrick Kiprop in 2025.
James Sankei added two more points in placing seventh with a time of 13:44.57.
Dating back to 1992 when Arkansas competed in its first SEC Indoor meet, Busienei claimed the 21st title for the program and is the 14th Razorback to win the indoor 5,000m.
Six more points were added in the distance medley relay as Arkansas posted a time of 9:30.84 from the foursome of Owan Logorodi (2:58.46), Zyaire Nuriddin (46.51), Julian Carter (1:49.10), and Brian Masai (3:56.77).
South Carolina won the race in 9:30.08 with Ole Miss runner-up in 9:30.34. Florida originally placed third in 9:30.37 but was disqualified for spiking the baton at the conclusion of the race.
Jelani Watkins led the Razorback crew in the 200m prelims as three Arkansas sprinters advanced to the final. Watkins produced an indoor career best of 20.42 rank second overall to a 20.38 by Florida’s Wayna McCoy. Watkins remains No. 2 on the UA all-time list as he improved his previous time of 20.43.
Dapriest Hogans followed with a 20.63 that equaled his career best and his No. 8 ranking on the UA all-time list. Tevijon Williams clocked 20.65 to reach the final where 20.71 was the cutoff time. Jamarion Stubbs ran 20.87 in his prelim heat.
Cooper Williams completed the first day of the heptathlon in sixth place with 2,862 points. He started with a 7.43 in the 60m (736), then added a 21-9.5 (6.64) long jump (729). In the shot put, a mark of 36-8.25 (11.18) picked up 557 points. Williams wrapped up day one by topping the field in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.25 for 840 points.
Link Lindsey placed 15 in the long jump with a mark of 23-6.75 (7.18).
DALLAS – Authorities in Arkansas have arrested a man accused of being behind the wheel during a January car crash that left one man dead.
What we know:
U.S. Marshals tracked down 22-year-old Enrique Hernandez in De Queen, a southwest Arkansas town about three hours away from Dallas and an hour north of Texarkana.
Hernandez has been charged with collision involving death, a second-degree felony, in connection with the case. He is currently being held in an Arkansas jail before he is transferred to a jail in Dallas County.
What we don’t know:
Dallas police haven’t said if the suspect has any ties to the victim or the area of Arkansas where he was arrested.
The backstory:
The fatal hit-and-run occurred around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11 near W. Davis St. and N. Westmoreland Dr. in Dallas.
26-year-old Johnathan Rodriguez was dropped off by friends outside his Dallas neighborhood early Sunday morning after celebrating his birthday.
Surveillance video shows Rodriguez in the media area of the road when a dark-colored SUV hits him and drives away.
Rodriguez was left with severe head trauma, later dying from his injuries.
What they’re saying:
John Rodriguez, the victim’s father, struggled to find the words to describe the news he received.
“It’s not going to bring him back, bring my son back,” Rodriguez told FOX 4’s Peyton Yager. “It hurts every day, every minute. I wake up every morning, and he is not here. We are really going to miss him.”
The Rodriguez family worked with police to help find their son’s killer. They found more surveillance video near the scene of the accident that helped authorities find and arrest Hernandez in Arkansas.
“We are going to fight for justice. Long live Johnny, and we are going to keep on fighting,” Rodriguez said.
The Source: Information in this story came from current and previous FOX 4 reporting.
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