Officials weighing changes in college football's Bowl Championship Series are focusing on four options, two of them incorporating a four-team playoff, an outline obtained by USA TODAY Sports shows
The plans range from a long-discussed "plus one" format — after the bowls play out, selecting two teams to meet for the national championship — to a heretofore undisclosed four-team playoff proposal that could expand the semifinals to preserve a Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup in the Rose Bowl.
In the latter plan, the four highest-ranked teams at the end of the regular season would meet in semifinals unless the Big Ten or Pac-12 champ, or both, were among the top four. Those leagues' teams still would meet in the Rose, and the next highest-ranked team or teams would slide into the semis. The national championship finalists would be selected after those three games.
Also being weighed is a conventional four-team playoff with various playing-site options, one of them placing semifinals in the home stadiums of higher-seeded teams. The BCS also could stick with an amended version of its current format.
The two-page summary was drawn up in advance of BCS meetings in Hollywood, Fla., this month. While it says no options are off the table, it makes it clear the conference commissioners who run the system have pared their preferences to the four. "There is no a leader in the clubhouse," BCS executive director Bill Hancock told USA TODAY Sports, "and frankly, that's just fine at this stage."
Many university presidents are yet to weigh in, he said. Hancock said officials were awaiting feedback out of conferences' spring meetings in May and June, meaning there'll be no final decision from the BCS' April 24-26 gathering in Florida. Current BCS contracts with conferences, bowls and TV carrier ESPN expire after the 2013 season.
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bfSDn?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sec-football
The plans range from a long-discussed "plus one" format — after the bowls play out, selecting two teams to meet for the national championship — to a heretofore undisclosed four-team playoff proposal that could expand the semifinals to preserve a Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup in the Rose Bowl.
In the latter plan, the four highest-ranked teams at the end of the regular season would meet in semifinals unless the Big Ten or Pac-12 champ, or both, were among the top four. Those leagues' teams still would meet in the Rose, and the next highest-ranked team or teams would slide into the semis. The national championship finalists would be selected after those three games.
Also being weighed is a conventional four-team playoff with various playing-site options, one of them placing semifinals in the home stadiums of higher-seeded teams. The BCS also could stick with an amended version of its current format.
The two-page summary was drawn up in advance of BCS meetings in Hollywood, Fla., this month. While it says no options are off the table, it makes it clear the conference commissioners who run the system have pared their preferences to the four. "There is no a leader in the clubhouse," BCS executive director Bill Hancock told USA TODAY Sports, "and frankly, that's just fine at this stage."
Many university presidents are yet to weigh in, he said. Hancock said officials were awaiting feedback out of conferences' spring meetings in May and June, meaning there'll be no final decision from the BCS' April 24-26 gathering in Florida. Current BCS contracts with conferences, bowls and TV carrier ESPN expire after the 2013 season.
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bfSDn?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sec-football