Another job creation for Hobart's Hancock

One of these days, Hobart native Bill Hancock is going to take a low-pressure job and learn to relax. Luckily for college football, that won’t come anytime soon.

One of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, Hancock has been named the first-ever executive director of the Bowl Championship Series. The most volatile lightning rod in collegiate athletics now rests in the hands of a 1972 Oklahoma graduate who has no known enemies.

Hancock is so good at what he does, new positions continue to be created for him. Hancock initially caught the NCAA’s eye when he coordinated the Big Eight basketball tournament and the 1988 Final Four, both in Kansas City, Mo., the previous home of the NCAA.

The NCAA promptly made Hancock the first-ever director of the Division I men’s basketball tournament (the Final Four), and he helped make it the greatest sports spectacle on earth. Four years ago, Hancock became the first-ever BCS administrator, serving directly under the acting coordinator in day to-day operations. Now Hancock is executive director of college football’s non-tournament that seemingly everyone likes to criticize.

“This is so different for me because I came from the most popular college sports event in America to this,” Hancock said with a chuckle, “but I really think we can move the needle on the BCS. I think a lot of people’s frustration is they don’t understand it.

“When I was at the NCAA, I used to say, ‘I’ve got the greatest job in America.’ But when people asked if I could pick another job, I would always say, ‘I’d love to be the director of the football championship,’ never thinking it would happen. This is as close as it gets.”