Published June 20, 2012 - 5:52pm
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In the sixth BCS meeting this year on the topic of moving towards a playoff, Mike Slive and twelve other college football leaders met in Chicago today. The conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD announced that they reached a consensus on a 4-team playoff and will present the model to the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee next week.
SEC Commissioner, Mike Slive said: “We have a consensus on a model with the caveat that they’re are still some issues to be resolved.”
While a consensus was announced, most expected that the 4-team playoff would be recommended by the conference commissioners. Moreover, the major questions regarding the 4-team playoff remain unanswered.
The questions continue to be around how the four teams are selected for a four team playoff – likely a hybrid conference champion format where an exceptional team that doesn’t win its conference can still possibly get in. Moreover, how to integrate a playoff with existing bowls is another question yet to be answered. The Big Ten and the Pac-12 are set on protecting the Rose Bowl so this is an important issue yet to be resolved.
Next week, the BCS President Oversight Committee meets in Washington. This group is made up of 12 University Presidents from around the country. Bernie Machen from University of Florida is the only SEC school president in the group. While the conference leaders will present their recommended format, the final decision on a playoff comes from the University Presidents.
It’s not likely that next week’s meeting results in a final playoff decision but rather continued discussions on the playoff format to start in 2014.
UPDATE: It’s being reported that the commissioners will recommend a selection committee to seed the four teams. An emphasis will be on conference champions. The question, of course, then becomes who will make up the selection committee.
