No Progress Reported On BCS Format Changes As Commissioner Meetings Wrap Up

The eleven conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick met for the second day on Wednesday to discuss any possible changes to the BCS format and afterward none of the commissioners said that the “issue was close to being resolved," according to Kirk Bohls of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany acknowledged that college football fans “are sensing clear movement toward a different postseason model.” But he said, “I couldn't handicap it." When asked whether he buys into the eventuality that a college football playoff will come, Delany said, "I don't." The commissioners "all continued their resistance to anything that could damage college football's regular season.” Delany also spoke about “the ‘sad’ transformation of the college basketball season into a showcase for the NCAA tournament in March.” Delany: "We used to have three networks show the regular season. Now we only have one, CBS. The others left. It's sad." The group of 12 will “reconvene at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Grand Hotel on March 26 for one day, to begin paring down the proposed postseason models.” But they all “insist they have talked little about specifics.” The BCS administrators could “also consider a longer television contract than the customary four-year deals that have been in place during its 14-year history.” But BCS Exec Dir Bill Hancock noted that "keeping it at four years gives more flexibility." After meeting in March, the commissioner will “meet again in late April in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and attempt to come up with a plan to recommend to the 12-member NCAA Presidential Oversight Committee, for a final vote” (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/23).

NOT MUCH PROGRESS: Meeting members said that “none of the estimated 50 proposals previously on the table was eliminated” yesterday. In terms of reaching a final decision, incoming Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said: "No one really knows what the actual drop-dead date is." Delany said, “I'm not a playoff person. I don't want to think about an NFL-styled college football playoff” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/23). Delany described the “current level of understanding of the models as ‘modest.’" He added there is "no one I know who has any interest" in either an eight- or 16-team playoff format. However, he said that he was “open to discussing the models.” ESPN.com’s David Ubben wrote for now, the commissioners “are working toward a yet undetermined ‘drop-dead date’ before decisions must be made.” No outcome is likely “until late summer at the earliest, but one benchmark date could be Oct. 1, when ESPN's exclusive 30-day window opens to negotiate for the price of a BCS that could look much different, or could still look the same.” Hancock said that even the Oct. 1 date “could be pushed back, according to the BCS' television contract” (ESPN.com, 2/22).