Since serving on an advisory board when the College Football Playoff was being formed, Middle Tennessee State athletic director Chris Massaro knew he would want to be on the CFP selection committee one day.

Massaro's wish came true Tuesday, as has was appointed to the College Football Playoff selection committee and will serve on the 13-person panel for the next three football seasons.

"I've made it known that I really had a desire to be on that," Massaro told The Daily News Journal. "(Conference USA commissioner Judy MacLeod) was aware of it. (Being part of the advisory committee) really whetted my appetite, introduced me to some of the people working day to day with the CFP.

"It's quite an honor. I think (the College Football Playoff) is one of the greatest sporting events in America. To play a role in that is a big honor for me. I hope it brings positive light to MTSU as well."

Baylor Athletics Director Mack Rhoades will serve as selection committee chair for the 2025 season.

"I look forward to contributing to the important work of evaluating the best teams in the nation and working with some extremely talented individuals," Massaro said. "College football continues to grow and evolve, and I'm excited to be a small part of the process that helps shape its future."

Massaro said the new appointment will be a "heavy time commitment," but one that is worth it.

"I appreciate MTSU allowing me to do that," Massaro said. "Once they start doing rankings in October, there will be a lot of in-person meetings, every Sunday for about 6-8 weeks. I'll be flying to Dallas for in-person meetings. It's going to be heavy in the fall, particularly late in the year from November until the selection in December."

Massaro is a huge college football fan and watches as many games as possible. That will increase as well.

"I'll be watching a ton of games, but I do that anyhow," he said. "I'm such a fan. I watch college football any chance I get. That will come naturally to me. I'll pay attention with a little more of an evaluation eye than just a college football fan."

Massaro will join his CFP colleagues at an orientation in Chicago in May to learn more about the obligations.

Four other new members joins Massaro in being appointed to the CFP Selection Committee.

Mark Dantonio, former head coach at Cincinnati and Michigan State; Damon Evans, athletics director at Maryland; Ivan Maisel, former sportswriter for The Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, the Dallas Morning News, Newsday, ESPN and On3; and Wesley Walls, former All-America tight end from Ole Miss, were also appointed to serve on the committee beginning in the 2025 season.

The new members will replace Chet Gladchek, Jim Grobe, Ward Manuel, Will Shields and Kelly Whiteside, whose terms have expired.

The CFP selection committee is responsible for ranking the 25 teams in the playoff and assigning the top 12 participants to the playoff bracket, leading up to its final selections.

The other returning selection committee members are Chris Ault (head coach and athletic director at Nevada), Randall McDaniel (former All-American offensive lineman, Arizona State), Mike Riley (former head coach, Oregon State and Nebraska), David Sayler (athletic director, Miami, Ohio), Carla Williams (athletic director, Virginia; and Hunter Yurachek (athletics director, Arkansas).

Massaro, the fifth-longest tenured athletic director in the FBS, has spent the past 20 years leading MTSU athletics. Under his leadership, the Blue Raiders have brought home 87 conference championships (including 45 in the Sun Belt and 42 in Conference USA) and three individual national championships. The 42 CUSA titles are the most by any school since the Blue Raiders entered the league in 2013.

Massaro was appointed to the NCAA Football Issues Committee in March 2008, served as a member of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee for the 2010-11 season, and was appointed to the NCAA Division I Leadership Council.

Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.