Bill Hancock has achieved a unique trifecta at the highest echelon of intercollegiate athletics. He was the first full-time director of the NCAA Final Four, the first executive director of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and the first executive director of the College Football Playoff (CFP).
Hancock was named executive director of the CFP in November 2012. He was the only CFP employee at the time. The leaders of the CFP directed him to finalize the details of a media rights agreement, negotiate agreements with the bowl games and with national championship game host cities, build a staff, find office space, contact members to serve on the selection committee, and draft protocol and procedures for the committee to use.
The playoff has been a phenomenal success; in its first year, it was named Sports Event of the Year by SportsBusiness Journal.
Hancock's five-decade career began in 1971 when he became assistant sports information director at the University of Oklahoma. He spent 16 years with the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, 13 years as its director. In 2005, he was appointed administrator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). He became executive director in 2009 and was named to the same role for the playoff when it was created in 2012. Hancock has served on the United States Olympic Committee staff at 15 Olympic Games and two Pan American Games.
He has been inducted into the halls of fame of the state of Oklahoma, College Sports Information Directors and the All-College Basketball Classic. A former newspaper editor, Bill has written two books. His memoir about the cross-country bicycle journey he undertook in the aftermath of his son's death, Riding With the Blue Moth, was among the top sports books after its release in October, 2005. It was re-issued in 2015. His second book, This One Day, in Hobart is a history of his hometown. He is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Nicki Perry.
The gymnasium in Hobart, Oklahoma, is named the “Hancock Event Center” in honor of Bill and his brother, Joe.
In June 2023, Hancock announced that he would step down when his current contract with the CFP expires in February 2025. With the arrival of current executive director Rich Clark in June 2024, Hancock moved into a consulting role.
TIMELINE
- 1950, September 9 – Born in Hobart, Oklahoma
- 1968-71 – University of Oklahoma (graduated after three and one-half years, journalism major)
- 1971-74 – Assistant Sports Information Director, University of Oklahoma
- 1974-78 – Editor, Hobart Democrat-Chief
- 1978-83 – Service Bureau Director, Big Eight Conference
- 1983-89 – Assistant Commissioner, Big Eight Conference
- 1989-2002 – Director, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (Final Four)
- 2001, January 27 – Son Will Hancock killed in the crash of the Oklahoma State University basketball team’s airplane
- 2005, September – Riding with the Blue Moth published
- 2002-05 – Media Director, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, on a consulting basis
- 2005, October – Named administrator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)
- 2007 – This One Day in Hobart published
- 2009, November – Named executive director of the BCS
- 2012, November – Named executive director of the College Football Playoff
