Report: Rice Named to NCAA Football Playoff Selection Committee

It's encouraging to see that college football finally recognizes that women know a little about college football, too.

According to reports, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to be named to the college football playoff committee that starts next year.

Before anyone starts wondering if she knows football, Rice is a huge college football fan. She might even have an affinity for hockey, as her alma mater -- Denver University -- has been a traditional power for decades. Rice earned her Masters in political science at Nôtre Dame, and is now a professor of political economy at Stanford. It's no secret she's a huge college sports fan; Rice has been a fixture at Stanford games, and has even served as a volunteer coach for their golf team.

No word whether she coaches while wearing the green jacket of the Augusta Country Club. Probably not, but she's one of the few who could.

Rice spent time in Tuscaloosa during her youth, so it goes without saying she was a Crimson Tide fan for at least part of her life.

The playoff panel is being assembled both painstakingly and thoroughly, so there can be no doubt of Rice's credentials as a knowledgeable contributor.

She will join the 12-18 member committee that reportedly will include:

• Arkansas AD Jeff Long
• Former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese
• USC AD Pat Haden
• West Virginia AD Oliver Luck
• Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez
• Football great Archie Manning
• Former Air Force Academy superintendent Lt Gen Michael Gould
• Former NCAA executive Tom Jernstedt, who has extensive experience with the Big Dance selection committee

If the reports are true, Rice is currently the only female and the only African-American on the panel. On one hand, this is a good stroke for diversity, but it's sad on the other because it again reflects of the lack of minority leadership in college football administration offices across the country.

But maybe for once, college football has finally done something right. Hopefully, more names will now emerge of qualified people who accurately reflect the face of the game.