University presidents agree on plan for college football playoff system

Published June 26, 2012

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – College football will finally have a playoff. Come 2014, the BCS is dead.

A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in two years.

"A four team playoff doesn't go too far," Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger said. "It goes just the right amount."

The move completes a six-month process for the commissioners, who have been working on a new way to determine a major college football champion after years of griping from fans.

"There were differences of views," Steger said. "I think it would be a serious mistake to assume it was a rubber stamp."

Instead of simply matching the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a championship game after the regular season, the way the Bowl Championship Series has done since 1998, the new format will create a pair of national semifinals. No. 1 will play No. 4, and No. 2 will play No. 3. The sites of those games will rotate among the four current BCS games -- Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar -- and two more to be determined.

The winners will advance to the championship.

The teams will be selected by a committee, similar to the way the NCAA basketball tournament field is set.

The commissioners want to lock in this format for 12 years with a television partner. The current BCS deal with ESPN runs through the 2013 season. The new format will be presented to potential TV partners in the fall, starting with ESPN.

There are still some details to work out, but all the decision-makers are on board.

Lower divisions of college football already have a playoff, but the highest level has always used bowls and polls to determine its champion. Those days are coming to an end.

"By making this change we felt we could enhance the regular season but at the same time provide the fans with the kind of postseason that will contribute to the regular season," Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said.

Film at 11..... 😟

well... we all know this didn't happen last year..... 😟

(hope it is not ethanol)

=d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d> =d>

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEE!

[-x 😳

:-k

if the conferences all have 20 teams why would we call them 'Super'..?? 😕

I did that for you......I should have said "Thuper". Then you would have understood.

Good!

Now we get to see those undefeated teams from BFE get a crack at the big program schools!

I'm sure the coaches poll will find a way to keep them out still..... 😟

As well they should.

Thank ESPN for stretching out the bowl season to a month long ordeal so they can have a (generally crummy) bowl game on every night of the week. By the time the NC game comes up I'm OD'd on the whole thing. Used to be New Years day you could watch a half dozen major bowls or more and make an event out of it. Now New Years day is just watered down too much and none of the bowls except the NC actually mean anything.

The whole BCS is gone headline on this "playoff" is a huge overstatement. This is the least incremental evolutionary step that the highest level of college football could make to try and get the critics off their backs.

I'd have liked to seen a 16 team true playoff. Thare are something like 120 teams at the top level of CFB. Letting the top 12-15% of those teams participate isn't unreasonable. First round of 8 games should be played at the higher seed's home field. Next 2 rounds at sites of current major bowl games, Championship game at a neutral site determined by whoever bids highest to get the event. Minor bowls can still be played as the meaningless exhibitions they currently are. The semifinal round should be played on New Years day, with championship the following week. Teams wouldn't have long layoffs to get rusty. That kind of playoff would rival or exceed the NFL playoffs in intensity, result in some classic games and bring in huge $$$$.