DU Alum Named To College Football Playoff Committee

The College Football Playoff selection committee has officially been announced.

The committee will select four teams that will advance to the College Football Playoff starting after the 2014 regular season.

The committee will be responsible for ranking and placing teams in the non-contract New Year's Day bowls, also known as the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. They will also select the highest ranked champion from the five non-power leagues (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt), and they will get a bid to one of the six CFP bowls. 

University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, has been chosen as the chairman of the committee.

Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice is one 13 committee members. Rice, 58, who attended The University of Denver (Bachelor's Degree in political science), The University of Notre Dame (Master's Degree in political science), Moscow State University in Russia (Studied Russian language/politics), Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (Ph.D. in political science), is also a trained concert pianist. She was an assistant professor of political science at Stanford University from 1981–1987, before being promoted to associate professor where she would remain until 1993. After serving as the Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, Rice returned to Stanford as a political science professor and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2009.

Tyrone Willingham, who's daughter graduated from DU and starred on the DU gymnastics team, is also on the committee.

Photos: DU Readies For 1st Presidential Debate

(above) Media trucks outside Ritchie Center at sunset

(above) "University of Denver" signage being installed on the Ritchie Center

(above) A temporary HDTV set up for DebateFest

(above) The MSNBC set

(above) Brand new University of Denver Monument on the corner of High & Buchtel Streets

(above) CNN Party Bus is the place to be for pre-debate tailgating

(above) DU alum Condi Rice was on campus for the events

(above) Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who's father taught at DU, chats with students

(above) DU students stand in for the candidates to test the lighting and TV cameras

Condi Rice Had A Fling With DU Hockey Player

(above) Who knew that the former Secretary of State was a puck bunny at the University of Denver?

From: Kamloops News
by Gregg Drinnan

Former University of Denver hockey star and alum Rich Preston has friends in high places.

Preston, the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and former NHL star, is friends with Condoleeza Rice, who was the first African-American woman to hold the office of United States Secretary of State.

Preston, a 57-year-old native of Regina, and Rice, a 54-year-old native of Birmingham, Ala., became friends while both were attending the University of Denver in the early 1970s.

Preston was there on a hockey scholarship; Rice was earning a BA in political science, which she got in 1974 at the age of 19.

Preston said her family — her father, John, was an assistant dean and also taught — followed the hockey team closely and would have the team over to their home for dinner once every season.

At one point, Preston said Rice asked him out.

“It was one of those dances where the girls ask the guys,” said Preston, before his squad met the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre. “Still, it was in 1972-73 . . . but I was Canadian.”

In other words, eyebrows were raised when the two of them showed up at the dance.

Later, the two would go their separate ways.

After a stop at Stanford University, Rice ended up in the White House as President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor.

Preston wound up as an assistant coach with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

And so it was that with the Sharks scheduled to play in Washington, Preston decided it would be nice to at least say hello.

To make a long story shorter, Preston eventually got through to Rice’s personal assistant and asked to leave a message for Rice.

“I said, ‘Just tell her Sergeant Preston called. She’ll know who it is,’ ” a chuckling Preston recalled. His nickname while playing hockey at Denver was Sergeant Preston, after the legendary Mountie, of course. Preston told the assistant when the Sharks were to be in Washington and at what hotel they would be staying.

When the team arrived and he got to his room, there was a message from Rice awaiting him.

“So I called her back,” he said, “and we talked for about 20 minutes.”

As the conversation wound down, Rice told Preston that she would love to meet him for coffee but that she “had a meeting with the President” at 5:30, which was minutes away, immediately after which she was flying to Europe for a NATO meeting.

Preston’s response?

A laughing Preston said: “I told her, ‘Can’t you postpone the NATO meeting?’ ”