“In an effort to grow college football’s great popularity and success, we just completed two days of productive meetings in Dallas, Texas.
We have until the fall of this year to finalize any possible changes to our current structure. That’s when contractual obligations require us to begin negotiations with our television carrier for future coverage decisions. We have a self-imposed deadline of sometime this summer to decide what changes we will propose to our governing bodies for football’s post-season. It’s still early in our process and we will continue to meet with our conferences and review options.
Whatever we do, we want to protect college football’s regular season which is the best and most meaningful in sports. We want to preserve the great bowl tradition while making it better and more attractive. We also have heard the message about playing bowl games closer to or on January 1, the way it used to be.
As we proceed, we will evaluate the many pros and cons of numerous possible changes. Every idea has exciting up sides, as well as complicated consequences. From the realities of the calendar to the issues presented in terms of venues such as who hosts games, we have tremendous responsibilities and opportunities.
The bottom line is we will continue to talk about how to make a great sport even better for student-athletes, fans and everyone who loves college football.”
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(Writer’s note: the lone reason behind the selection of our featured image is Nick Saban‘s attempt to smile. It’s awkward. Like, almost to the level of Dana Holgorsen awkward. Anyway...)
Shortly before the 2011-12 college football season came to a close, the grumblings for a change in the postseason format of major college football grew to loud cries.
For once, the major power brokers in college football responded accordingly. A day after Alabama’s 21-0 BCS championship win over LSU, members of the BCS met to discuss how the current process of crowning the champion of America’s second most popular sport could be modified. BCS executive director Bill Hancock said after the Jan. 10 meeting that the 11 conference commissioners will likely meet 5-7 more times before July to discuss more than 50 ideas for change.
Today was one of those meetings. Well, one-half; all 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick are meeting in Dallas today and Wednesday as part of those series of meetings to begin the process of expanding upon and/or whittling down those 50-60 postseason ideas.
(Although, it should be noted Slive said all ideas were still on the table as of today)
More definitive results, relatively speaking, will probably be announced tomorrow. Just don’t expect any drastic changes or signed declarations yet.
“It’s a marathon, not a race,” said SEC commissioner Mike Slive, with Hancock adding he would be “surprised if anything was announced before the summer.”
That said, it sounds as though a plus-one model continues to gain serious momentum.
The primary concerns for the BCS members include, but are not limited to: protecting the regular season [/eye roll] and not interfering with finals, which extended from Dec. 2-21 last year.
Justified or not, that’s going to be attached to each and every conversation in regards to a possible change in postseason format. Trust me, if logic was involved in this in any way -- and that isn’t to suggest the 12 BCS members somehow have an easy task in front of them -- the BCS would have been gone a long time ago.