Ball State University announced this week that its president, Geoffrey S. Mearns, has been selected to join the College Football Playoff Board of Managers, the governing body that oversees the playoff’s business operations, budgetary decisions and policy development.
A New Chapter for Mid-American Conference Representation
Mearns succeeds Satish K. Tripathi, who held the Mid-American Conference’s seat on the board for several years. The transition was confirmed by the CFP, which highlighted Mearns’s longstanding involvement in NCAA governance and his current role as chief executive of Ball State, a public research university in Muncie, Indiana.
Before assuming the presidency at Ball State, Mearns led Northern Kentucky University and held senior positions at Cleveland State University. He also served as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice and earned his undergraduate degree in English from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Virginia.
The College Football Playoff Board of Managers is composed of representatives from each of the ten conferences that sponsor football at the highest level of college athletics. In addition to his new responsibilities, Mearns will continue to advocate for the interests of the Mid-American Conference, which has seen recent growth in media rights and competitive balance.
University officials praised Mearns’s appointment, noting his deep ties to both academic and athletic communities. Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, said the board will benefit from Mearns’s perspective on institutional leadership and strategic planning.