FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2012, file photo, the Coaches' Trophy is displayed before the BCS National Championship game between the LSU and Alabama in New Orleans. College football will finally have a playoff. Come 2014, the BCS is dead. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season.
Gerald Herbert, File, 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.
Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphdrussoAP
- BYU basketball: Dave Rose hoping Tyler Haws'...
- Stump the Smith: Can you answer the questions...
- ESPN trivia guru: University of Utah graduate...
- Hard work, dedication pay off for Utah's Karl...
- High school softball: Copper Hills earns a...
- Utah Jazz: No lottery luck, so Jazz remain in...
- BYU basketball: Agustin Ambrosino leaves BYU...
- LIVE TODAY: Deseret News live streaming...
Subscribe
Mobile
RSS
- High school baseball: 5A, 4A state...
55 - BYU basketball: Dave Rose hoping Tyler... 27
- Bodyguards allegedly beat up 2 fans who... 19
- Utah Jazz: No lottery luck, so Jazz... 19
- Dick Harmon: BYU coach Mike Littlewood... 15
- Hard work, dedication pay off for... 15
- Utah State football: New coach Matt... 11
- If hired, Jeff Hornacek will face same... 10
@ RevK
Utah has zero regrets abut joining the PAC-12. And you're kidding yourself if you think BYU (or any other MWC team) wouldn't jump at the chance just like the Utes did.
"A great step in the right direction. I think the number of teams should be eight though"
2 for flinching.
I agree. But no more.
The key is to keep out the ponzi SOS scheme. Teams that built their legancy on More..
Has everyone forgotten that the "big four" conferences have made pacts to play each other in non-conference match-ups? They did this knowing this 4-team playoff was coming.
This will ensure that they're the only conferences More..