Plus-One Proposal Falls Flat At BCS Commissioners Meetings
The plus-one postseason football format that would have transformed the BCS into a four-team playoff "fell stupefyingly flat Wednesday, prompting no change to the way college football determines its champion ... until at least 2014," according to Jeff Shain of the MIAMI HERALD. In the discussion at the BCS commissioners meetings in Miami, it became "clear that four of the 'Big Six' leagues saw no reason for further deliberation," and no formal vote was taken. Commissioners could decide only whether to "take the plan back to their members for more discussion, with a final decision to come in the summer from a panel of BCS college presidents." But only the ACC and SEC "voiced an interest in taking it that far." The Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 conferences "preferred to shelve the proposal, as did [independent] Notre Dame." The conferences against a new format worried that a playoff would "soon lead to pressure to expand to eight teams -- and perhaps beyond that, eventually." Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany: "There was a strong sense in that room of a slippery slope." Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese: "I think as soon as teams 5 and 6 get left out, they'll be screaming for eight (in a playoff). Then team 9 gets left out, and they'll be screaming again." Some conferences also were "unwilling to budge on adding another game to the season, or extending the season into the spring semester for the finalists" (MIAMI HERALD, 5/1). USA TODAY's Steve Wieberg reports opponents of the plus-one format "worried about compromising the regular season's popularity" (USA TODAY, 5/1). Tranghese: "The seeded model that's been discussed looked like a playoff to us, and we don't think a playoff is in the best interest of college football" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1).
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Swofford Says BCS Commissioners
Happy With Status Quo |
STATUS QUO: ACC Commissioner and BCS Coordinator John Swofford: "The thing that came out through these meetings loud and clear is that there's a lot of satisfaction on where we are." Notre Dame AD Kevin White: "If it's not broken, don't fix it. It's working well." Delany: "I did feel like the notion that the Big Ten and Pac-10 were obstructionist, and blocking the way, was too narrow a way to capture where the conferences were on this issue" (PALM BEACH POST, 5/1). Delany added that he "felt vindicated," as SI had labeled Delany and Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen the "axis of obstruction." Swofford: "We feel that a format and potential change that deserved appropriate and considerable discussion has received that. ... There's a sense of comfort with the current status of things with the BCS, and these several days of meetings have underscored that" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1). SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, who presented the plus-one plan, said, "I don't know if disappointed is the right word but there is a bit of a letdown. It's not that I'm unhappy with the system. But it's like anything else. I don't think there is such a thing as standing pat" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/1).
MOVING FORWARD: In L.A., Chris Dufresne notes Fox, which has two years remaining on its BCS TV contract, has an "exclusive negotiating window" with the BCS starting in September, and the BCS "needed to decide on any future format before those negotiations began." The Rose Bowl has a separate contract with ABC running through the 2013 season. The commissioners may "reconsider the plus-one and other formats after that contract expires." Slive: "We need to turn our attention to the next cycle and watch that cycle very carefully and see what that brings and keep our options open beyond that point" (L.A. TIMES, 5/1).
REAX: SI.com's Stewart Mandel, noting the known resistance to a plus-one from the Big Ten and Pac-10, wrote, "What came as a surprise ... was finding out Wednesday just how little support there was for the model among the other conferences as well" (SI.com, 4/30). ESPN's Joe Schad: "I was very surprised how adamant these commissioners were against the idea" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 4/30). The L.A. TIMES' Dufresne, in a separate piece, writes the plus-one proposal is "dead. Gee, what a shock." Dufresne: "This was as predictable as Duke losing a football game. ... Give the commissioners credit for ending the plus-one idea now and not dragging the discussion into the summer with the same ultimate conclusion" (L.A. TIMES, 5/1). ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski wrote under the header, "BCS Driving Its Rent-A-Wreck Until 2014." The commissioners are "allergic to a playoff, or anything resembling a playoff. Their logic is so antiquated that you half expect them to return home in a Model T." The BCS is in a "state of confusion. Inertia. Paralysis" (ESPN.com, 4/30). ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach on the movement to change the BCS: "Cacti in the Mojave Desert don't grow this slow" (ESPN.com, 4/30).
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