CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: HOST COMMITTEE HANDOFF

January 10, 2023

Bill Hancock

Kathryn Schloessman

Doane Liu

James Butts

Janis Burke

June Deadrick

Chris Massey

James Rishwain

Marriott LAX

Press Conference

BILL HANCOCK: We're delighted to be here this morning. This is the hand-off of the CFP from Los Angeles to Houston.

First of all, I want to start off and just thank our hosts from Los Angeles for just doing a wonderful job. We've been working on this for some time when we first visited the stadium. We wore hard hats, and last night we saw the fruition of all the work of the host committee and the work of our folks who put this together.

Everyone from the host committee itself to police and fire to the entire hospitality industry rolled out the red carpet for CFP. And we cannot thank them enough. My goodness, they put on an incredible show.

The fans of both schools, if you were at the game last night, I know you shared my emotion at the remarkable passion in the stadium.

We have this every year, but it was particularly noticeable last night because of the red and purple. And I would wager there weren't more than about 20 fans in that stadium who didn't care one way or the other. And that's really the magic of the College Football Playoff.

Also some individuals I want to thank from Los Angeles who helped make this the great event it was. Starting with James Rishwain, the chairman of the Los Angeles College Football Playoff host committee; Kathryn Schloessman, Kathryn is a dynamo, energy, and she's the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports Entertainment Commission; Doane Liu, a wonderful human being, chief tourism officer for the city of Los Angeles; and Mayor James Butts from the city of Inglewood.

These people will be on the stage this morning but I want you to know who they are.

In just a minute we'll be ready to pass the baton to Houston. Before we do that, let's take a minute to reflect on the incredible success of Los Angeles.

JAMES RISHWAIN: Good morning, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here. My name is Jim Rishwain. I'm the host of the Los Angeles College Football Playoffs National Championship Game. We're so proud of the game and the event. It's been exciting.

I want to thank Bill Hancock for his leadership, his stewardship, his guidance, his enthusiasm. Really giving us the opportunity, and the city of Los Angeles, the community of Los Angeles, the city of Inglewood to have the game.

Really from the day the team arrived on Friday at LAX to the Playoff Fan Central at LA Convention Center, two nights of concerts at Banc of California Stadium, so many other surrounding events to the game last night, culminating at SoFi Stadium.

It was truly a great week for Los Angeles and the region itself. We're very excited.

Together, we delivered a world-class College Football Playoff experience for these student-athletes. We showcased the Los Angeles region for the global world to see. And we laid the foundation for a lasting impact for our community. And we're very, very excited about that.

I'd be remiss if we didn't thank and congratulate Georgia and TCU for their amazing, amazing season. Georgia dominated the game last night, but TCU had a Cinderella season. Started the season unranked, and they were in the game. Two teams were in the game. They both need to be celebrated. It was an amazing college football season. Very excited about it.

We'd like to thank the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Park for being our co-hosts. Special thanks to Stan Kroenke for his vision and making SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park a reality to give us this amazing, world-class platform to host this game and many other major sporting events in the future.

And of course to our local officials. Special thanks to Inglewood Mayor James Butts, to Los Angeles chief tourism officer Doane Liu for their continued leadership and support, which is absolutely necessary for us to be able to carry out these major sporting events in the Los Angeles region.

At the beginning, we set out to have an industry-leading event, to uplift our community throughout Los Angeles and to make an everlasting impact for years to come.

I'm absolutely confident as I stand here before you today that we have accomplished all of that proudly. So many people were involved from the beginning. They know who they are. It was an incredible team effort. I thank all of them.

And now I'd like to turn this podium over to, really, our hero, Kathryn Schloessman, who is the president and CEO of Los Angeles Sports Entertainment Commission. Her impact, her drive, her ambition, her passion have really made an everlasting impact on our Los Angeles region, sports and entertainment landscape. And we owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude. Thank you.

KATHRYN SCHLOESSMAN: Hello, everybody. I'm Kathy Schloessman. I'm president and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission. I too want to thank Jim Rishwain, who you just heard from, who is our amazing chairman who led this effort over the past five years to bring this event to SoFi Stadium.

I hope everyone had a good experience, rain aside, last night.

I'd like to make a few thank yous quickly; I won't repeat what's been said already because we have a lot of amazing partners. You'll meet some of them today. I want to point out a couple of things.

First, I want to thank the visitors from Georgia and TCU who came to our city. I think they had a great experience. I hope you, too, had a great experience at this hotel and at The TopGolf party and other events we had during the weekend because we wanted to make sure to showcase our city.

It's usually a bit sunnier here. It's a strange fluke that we had this weather. But we have an amazing city, a lot of attractions, and we're happy to have them here.

I want to thank the CFP Foundation and Britton Banowsky because with their support, they came in here and helped us support our teachers in the region. We had a program called Champions Educate Here where we chose 46 teachers using sports movement and play to re-engage students and bring them back into the classrooms.

It was incredibly successful thanks to the media attention that follows the College Football Playoff and the CFP Foundation support.

They also allowed us to open up an esports lab down at Morningside High School in Inglewood last Friday. We're renovating a field at Coleman Field also in Inglewood.

So the game was exciting. The game was great, but it's really about the impact that the CFP is leaving behind in our community and what they're doing for our residents. And that was a real plus in our marketplace.

The other thing I wanted to mention was I wanted to thank the CFP staff, led by the amazing Bill Hancock because they embraced a program we have called Business Connect. You may have heard of Business Connect. It was started by the NFL. We had it here for Super Bowl where we engaged 200 local, diverse businesses -- women-owned, minority-owned, vet-owned LGBTQ+-owned businesses who have event-production companies and we gave them a foot in the door.

And the CFP executives embraced the program. They really wanted to make sure that our local businesses had a chance to benefit from the national championship coming here.

So they really put a strong emphasis and support behind it, making sure that the partners gave our local diverse businesses an opportunity to bid on contracts and they did.

So thank you to the CFP Foundation for their support. Thank you to the CFP staff for their support. And thank you to both the city of Los Angeles and the amazing Mayor Butts, who you'll meet in a minute, the city of Inglewood.

You saw the eighth wonder of the world in SoFi Stadium. Stan Kroenke's vision, the SoFi Stadium staff just did an amazing job, both last night and over the last five years leading up to that. Thank you to all of them.

I'll introduce you to the chief tourism officer of our great city of Los Angeles, Doane Liu.

DOANE LIU: Thank you, Kathy, and thank you for your leadership. This event wouldn't be here in Los Angeles without your great work.

My name is Doane Liu. I'm the chief tourism officer for the city of Los Angeles. It's my great honor and privilege to be here today to represent our new mayor, Mayor Karen Bass who couldn't be here today but sends her congratulations and her sincere thanks to the CFP for bringing the national championship to Los Angeles.

This was the first national championship in LA since the introduction of the CFP playoff system. And last night demonstrated a wonderful and a highly competitive season.

We look forward to hosting the College Football Playoffs here in Los Angeles again, and again soon.

But thank you to all of our guests from all over the country for visiting Los Angeles, for staying at our hotels, for patronizing our restaurants and spending your dollars here in LA's economy. And congratulations to both TCU and national champion Georgia Bulldogs for a truly spectacular victory last night.

This was an amazing week of events here in Los Angeles in the region from the Playoff Fan Central that we hosted at our very own LA Convention Center to two nights of concerts at the Banc of California Stadium to game day last night at the spectacular SoFi Stadium.

I think it's safe to say that LA stands alone as a sports and entertainment capital.

And lastly, we want to send our best wishes to the city of Houston as we hand off the CFP -- it says torch, we're handing off a football, right? And we celebrate an absolutely unforgettable story for LA.

I for one hope that we can watch the Big Ten powerhouses, UCLA and USC, play in the national championship. I know they're not going to be in the Big Ten next year, but it will be great to see UCLA and USC in the national championship in Houston next year.

Anyway, I'd like to now hand it off to a personal hero of mine, great mayor of the city of champions, the honorable Mayor James Butts. Thank you.

MAYOR JAMES BUTTS: Good morning. I'm James Butts, mayor of the city of Inglewood, where actually the game was played. And I want to thank you, Doane.

Now that the College Football Playoff championships is behind us, I want to thank our residents for stepping up and helping to make this a magnificent event.

Inglewood residents delivered on the brightest stage, in a moment where the nation was watching, and I can't thank them enough. We've been the host of a number of events and a number of events to come.

The Worldwide Entertainment Wrestling championship will be here. The LA Philharmonic Youth Orchestra program is stationed in Inglewood. The Clippers are coming here in 2024. We're going to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.

None of these things matter if they're just events where the events are held and people come and people leave. And we really want to thank the foundation for CFP because, as Kathryn mentioned, they built the $250,000 esports lab at Morningside High. They renovated and renewed the weight room at Caroline Coleman field for Inglewood High.

And that's what matters. What matters is when events like these not only uplift a region economically, but they provide a platform for equity for communities that have been ignored.

As we pass the torch off to Houston, I want to say one last time, I'm very proud of the city of Inglewood. Proud of Stan Kroenke for building such a magnificent stadium, actually the eighth wonder of the world.

And that we all came together to make the most of our opportunity to host the College Football Playoff National Championship. Thank you guys very much. I'll pass it back now to Bill Hancock.

BILL HANCOCK: There's a tradition in college football, when a player makes a great play, he affixes a logo decal to the helmet. We have tried to adopt that for the College Football Playoff. And it's been very successful.

Every city puts its logo on the helmet and hands the helmet off to the next city. The logo they put on is indicative of the great job they did.

And as I said a minute ago, Los Angeles knocked it out of the park. When the confetti is flown, everybody's here, they're celebrating, and what we will take with us is the fact that Los Angeles knocked it out of the park.

So I want to welcome back Jim, Kathryn, Doane and Mayor Butts and we're going to do the official helmet ceremony.

So 364 more days until we go to Houston. We're very excited about this. And let's have a little video to show you what's in store from our friends in Houston.

(Video playing)

It's my pleasure to introduce Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County - Houston Sports Authority. They're the host of the 2024 college playoff.

Also, June Deadrick, June is chairman of the host committee. Welcome, Janis, June; the stage is yours.

JANIS BURKE: That was my first time seeing the video. I love it, Bill. Good job.

I'm Janis Burke, the CEO of the Harris County - Houston Sports Authority. I'd like to thank Bill Hancock and his entire staff for entrusting our organization and our destination with the opportunity to host the CFP game. It will be the first time that Houston has hosted this. And it will be at NRG Stadium next year.

Shortly after Super Bowl in 2017 is when we first started talking with the CFP staff about bringing this event. And that's how long we've been dreaming about it, envisioning what it would be like coming to Houston. So we are very excited at this time to be doing this hand-off.

We're on the clock. And there are lots of partners. We are no strangers to collegiate athletic events. We have the men's Final Four here this year. We host a Texas Bowl under the great leadership of David Fletcher. I believe he's here somewhere. But we just love athletic sports.

And we like to say in Texas that we are a football state. We just embrace football. We love it. But actually in Houston we say that Houston is football. And so we really look forward to just packing the stands with a lot of great fans and doing a great job with all the activities.

I want to congratulate Kathy. Kathy is a great friend, Kathy Schloessman and the team and the people that put this on. I know that many times citizens don't realize how much work is going on behind the scenes and how many events are going on simultaneously, and it is a lot of work. And she's still smiling and she's been a great host.

We had a whole delegation, about 38 people here, from our Houston Police Department, fire department, our convention center, the NRG Park folks, and she has helped us coordinate all of that and has just been a super host. Congratulations, Kathy, on a job well done.

At this time I'd like to introduce a couple of important people from our team.

So, Chris Massey came to the sports authority years ago as an intern. And he was just there to kind of get those last hours so he could graduate and work for free to help us put on an event.

And he was so good that we asked him to stay. And here he is years later, my right-hand person, vice president of our team. But he'll be the president of our local committee.

And June Deadrick, who is behind me, that you'll hear from, also has chaired our Texas Bowl game in Houston. I don't know anybody that loves football more than this woman. And so we're really thrilled to have both of them.

With that I'll turn it over to June.

JUNE DEADRICK: Thank you, Janis. Let me begin by thanking the Los Angeles host committee and the entire team from SoFi Stadium for a fantastic game last night. My personal thanks to you all for your time, your attention and your assistance in hosting us, answering questions and providing guidance as we prepare to try to fill the very large shoes that you've left for us.

On behalf of the city of Houston, the Houston - Harris County Sports Authority and the entire Houston host committee, it's our honor to accept the mantle for hosting the phenomenal pinnacle of college football, the championship game.

As you all know, Texas is a huge football state. From pee wee through the professional ranks, we take our football very seriously. And we are the very definition of fanatics.

It will surprise no one in this room that almost every collegiate level football team has at least one Texan on their roster.

The Houston host committee is dedicated to ensuring that the teams, the fans, and everyone attending the 2024 CFP Championship Game has a unique and dynamic experience in Houston.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Houston and to NRG Stadium one year from now as we prepare to celebrate the very best in college football.

Thank you, all. And now let me turn it over to Chris Massey, the president of the Houston Host Committee.

CHRIS MASSEY: Thank you, June. Congratulations to Los Angeles. You truly rolled out the red carpet for what's been an amazing week in celebrating college football, student-athletes and two fantastic fan bases.

Looking back, I can remember an official site visit years ago as a prospective host city. Our committee came together to showcase just how excited they were just to be under consideration for this championship.

Whether it was the volunteers or staff who supported the visit, down to the hotel, event venue and restaurant personnel, everyone proudly wore a jersey with "Houston is Football" emblazoned across the chest as they took part in that visit -- that very jersey that Janis is wearing today.

Since being officially awarded in 2017 the momentum in Houston and Harris County has continued to build, leading us to this hand-off today. We're honored and privileged to be entrusted with the tenth anniversary of the College Football Playoff National Championship.

You can guarantee that these next 12 months will be full of hard work and dedication from the Houston host committee, all of our partners and our entire community.

I'd like to take a moment to thank our board for their unwavering support and all of our stakeholders who have continued to work every day to ensure that our community is not only ready to host but buzzing with excitement and energy.

This event is the pinnacle of college football, but also serves as an amazing vehicle to uplift and support our region.

Houston prides it is in the philanthropic spirit. And although the collaboration we look forward to with our CFP Foundation counterparts, I'm eager and excited as we develop a lasting legacy in education. On behalf of the entire committee, we can't wait to host you in Houston.

JANIS BURKE: And with that, we're on the clock.