Bill Hancock to Receive Michael J. Cleary Merit of Honor Award

Bill Hancock, former College Football Playoff executive director, has been selected as the 13th recipient of the Michael J. Cleary Merit of Honor Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

The award was named after Cleary, the former NACDA executive director, in 2011. Cleary served at the helm of NACDA from the Association’s inception in 1965 through his retirement in 2011, when he became director emeritus until his passing in 2015. Hancock will be honored in June in conjunction with the 2025 NACDA & Affiliates Convention in Orlando.

“This is an overwhelming honor,” Hancock said. “Mike Cleary was a friend and confidant; we were bound by our shared roots as championships administrators. NACDA is a beacon of integrity and represents the legion of folks who showed me the right path over the past half-century. I am deeply flattered and grateful.”

Hancock was named executive director of the CFP a few months after the event was created in 2012. He was tasked with finalizing the details of a media rights agreement and negotiating agreements with bowl games and national championship game host cities.

Hancock was also the first full-time director of the NCAA Men’s Final Four and the first administrator of the Bowl Championship Series. He spent 11 years at the Big Eight Conference before becoming Final Four director in 1989. After 16 years with the basketball tournament, Hancock joined the BCS in 2005.

The award recognizes an individual who demonstrates integrity and commitment to the highest ideals of athletics in general, and intercollegiate athletics in particular.