BCS: 5 Plus 1 a good thing? The commissioners of the BCS conferences, the men who made the word "tweak" part of the college football lexicon, began their spring meetings in Phoenix on Monday with the idea of doing you-know-what to the formula that determines who plays in the national championship game. Their goal is to find a way out of the embarrassment of last December, when the No. 1 team in both major polls, Southern California, finished No. 3 in the final BCS formula and was excluded from the national championship game. The sport ended up with both LSU and USC declared national champs, the very dilemma that the BCS had been concocted to avoid. The BCS commissioners will also begin to formally consider the future of postseason college football after the current contract expires following the 2005 season. ABC Sports will make a proposal on Tuesday afternoon that will add a fifth bowl to the four-bowl rotation and include a national championship game, as well, to be played after the five games. The "five-plus-one" plan, as first reported by the Boston Globe over the weekend, would include the bowls having "host" conferences, the concept that the bowls used for many years. While the university presidents in the BCS have made clear their preference for adding a fifth bowl, the amount of support for the additional national championship game is less certain. In any event, no decisions are expected to be made this week. The commissioners will next meet in June. Ivan Maisel covers college football for ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1790690
Of course....the media was outraged that their word wasn't LAW as to who was the national champion. :geaux:
According to this article in The Advocate this morning, 5 plus 1 plan isn't going to happen. I would love to know the exact reasons why University Presidents oppose a playoff system. It can't be about money b/c a playoff would generate more money than the current bowl system. It can't be about prolonging the season b/c we keep extending the season anyway. It certainly can't be about tradition b/c we keep changing it every few years. There has to be a reasonable explanation, right? http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/042904/spo_bcs001.shtml
Probably has something to do with once they start a mini playoff, it will open the door to the idea and probably expand to a full playoff in time. The bowl guys don't want that and honestly, a lot of fans don't want a full fledged playoff to diminish the regular season either. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out after 2006 when the current BCS contract is up.
All the polls I've seen over the years seem to suggest the fans want a playoff system. The problem is trying to come up with the right system to please everyone. I completely understand why the bowl guys don't want it, but I don't think they should be making this decision .... a playoff would bring in more money to the NCAA and the schools. My last point is this ... every sport, at almost every level, has some sort of playoff system to determine a true champion, except college football. Up until last year, I hoped for controversy and turmoil with the BCS and polls, thinking it would eventually force people to come to a reasonable playoff solution. Sadly, my hopes came true the year LSU decided to win the damn thing! LOL
