Commissioners and an athletic director from each of the 11 Division I-A conferences are meeting in Phoenix this week to discuss potential changes to the Bowl Championship Series and to talk about the effect of adding a fifth BCS bowl game.
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| Tranghese |
BCS coordinator and Big East Conference Commissioner Michael Tranghese said that while a wide range of topics will be discussed, he does not expect any final decisions to be made.
The plan over the course of the three-day meetings, which run through Wednesday, is to talk about the BCS poll and “normal business issues” in regard to the BCS, Tranghese said, as well as meet with officials from both BCS television partner ABC and the four BCS bowls. Tranghese said “considerable time” also will be spent talking about a fifth BCS bowl and how it might work.
Expressions of interest from bowls seeking to be the fifth BCS game were due last Friday. Tranghese said officials likely will talk about the potential next step of sending out formal requests for proposals or having face-to-face discussions with bowl executives.
The Cotton, Gator, Citrus, Alamo, Houston, Peach and Holiday bowls are among those that have expressed interest in hosting the fifth game.
The existing BCS television contract expires in 2006, and the exclusive negotiating window for a new contract is set to begin with ABC officials in September. Still, TV negotiations are not expected to be a leading point in this week’s meetings.
“We can’t begin to talk about television until we know what the model [for the fifth bowl] is,” Tranghese said.
— Jennifer Lee
