ISL has met with SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer several
times in the past six months "to pitch its plan for a" 16-
team, $375M college football playoff to launch in 2003,
according to Steve Kirk of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. But Kramer,
who also coordinates the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), is
not sold on the idea yet: "I'm not here to say there will
never be a college football playoff, but I don't believe it
will be run by someone in Switzerland." While the current
bowl system "distributes" around $140M each year, ISL has
offered the NCAA more than $2.4B over eight years for the
right to set up a playoff system. However, Kramer "is most
willing to list many reasons why he believes [a playoff]
won't work." One is that the contract between the Big Ten
and Pac 10 with the Rose Bowl continues for three years
after the BCS plan expires in 2002, creating a "six-year
window that it can't happen." Kramer: "You've got to have
Ohio State and Michigan in the mix. You can't go sell it
without them." Kramer also pointed out that college
presidents don't want to "sell college football" to the
firm. Finally, there is the issue of timing, as ISL's
proposal calls for eight first-round games to be played on
college campuses during weekends during the NFL season.
Kramer: "I've done my share of TV negotiating, and we're
talking about going head-to-head with (the NFL)?" To
counter movement toward a playoff, the BCS will unveil a
promo campaign around all bowls this season, including TV/
radio and football programs ads (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 6/20).
