Sunshine Sentinel

WASHINGTON, D.C.— On December 18, 2023, Senator Rick Scott continued his fight for transparency from the College Football Playoff (CFP) following Executive Director Bill Hancock’s inadequate response to his request. Senator Scott’s original letter which was sent on December 4th, one day after the CFP made the unprecedented decision to snub Florida State University (FSU), requested answers as to why the undefeated, Power Five conference champion was excluded from the playoffs for the first time in the Committee’s 10-year history. In its response, the CFP failed to answer any of the 10 questions Senator Scott posed in his initial letter. 

Read Senator Scott’s original letter HERE, the CFP response HERE, and Senator Scott’s follow-up HERE or below. 

December 18, 2023 

Dear Mr. Hancock: 

I appreciate your response on Friday, December 15, to my letter dated Monday, December 4, regarding the unprecedented exclusion of the 13-0, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Champion Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles from the College Football Playoff (CFP). Unfortunately, your response failed to answer all 10 of the questions I posed in my initial letter. Although I am sure you are incredibly busy this time of year, I am once again asking that you take the time necessary to provide transparency behind your selection process. As I stated in my first letter, I believe that total transparency regarding how this decision was reached would do tremendous good for the CFP and the entire college football community. 

In your response, you thanked me for writing to you about college football. I am troubled by your oversimplification of the problem at hand. The work you and the Selection Committee do has implications that stretch far beyond the football fields or athletic departments of our nation’s universities. This is bigger than just college football. 

I clearly outlined my concerns with the Selection Committee’s decision, which will deny significant financial and economic opportunities for FSU, our student athletes, the City of Tallahassee and the State of Florida, in my first letter. I am sure that you will agree that those who feel snubbed or mistreated should not be denied the opportunity to get an explanation for the decisions that created that perception. That is how many athletes at FSU feel, and we now have Americans across the country who doubt the integrity of the playoff system. 

To provide needed transparency and restore confidence in your organization, I again request that you immediately respond to this letter with the following information: 

1. The “listing step” and “ranking step” votes of each member of the Selection Committee for the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
2. Any notes, recordings, or reports detailing the deliberations of the CFP Selection Committee in deciding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
3. Any emails, text messages, or other written communication exchanged between the members of the Selection Committee regarding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
4. Any emails, text messages, or other written communication exchanged between members of the Selection Committee and CFP company officers, Board of Managers and/or Management Committee regarding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
5. Any emails, text messages, or other written communication exchanged between members of the Selection Committee and individuals affiliated with ESPN regarding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
6. Any emails, text messages, or other written communication exchanged between members of the Selection Committee and individuals affiliated with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regarding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
7. Any emails, text messages, or other written communication exchanged between members of the Selection Committee and any individual(s) not affiliated with the CFP regarding the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
8. The statistical data and game video for the Seminoles reviewed by members of the Selection Committee during the deliberation process.
9. Any documentation of recusals granted to Committee members for the CFP rankings released on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
10. The CFP ethical and conflict of interest standards.

Finally, please know that no matter how busy things are in Washington, I will never stop fighting for Florida families, our students and our universities. I sincerely hope that you will take this opportunity to choose transparency and salvage the integrity of the important organization you represent.

Original source can be found here.