If one can assume that T.K. Wetherell (Pres. , Flordia State) is correct in saying that we will one day have a playoff in the BCS, the question needs to asked, how many schools should make up the BCS in order to get to a championship?
Right now there are 66 BCS schools (65 in 6 conferences plus Notre Dame). How can these schools be realigned in order to bring about an equitable play-off system? Are 6 conferences the right number? Wouldn't a playoff be a lot easier to administer with 4 or 8 conferences. Is it fair that with 6, two conferences will get two entries into the tourney? If there is a playoff, does the BCS have the "stuff" (like Rutgers) to force Notre Dame into joining a conference to participate?
Can and will the BCS dictate to the conferences how their champions are chosen. Will everyone have to use the same format, the same number of teams?
Or will we eventually add the 13th game when the need for money grows (and it will) and scrap the playoff idea. Or maybe just scrap the BCS and go back to a pure bowl system with all of its back room deal making and back stabbing?

If there is a playoff instituted expect it to just be a 4 team playoff system most likely.

I agree it likely will be 4 only. If they were to go to a full blown playoff system 16 makes the most sense.. 11 conf champs plus 5 at large.

If they agree to a 4 team playoff it will be only a matter of time before it mushrooms to 16 or more. Just take a look at the NCAA basketball tournament.

1939-1950: eight teams
1951-1974: varied between sixteen teams and 25 teams.
1975–1978: 32 teams
1979: 40 teams
1980–1982: 48 teams
1983: 52 teams (four play-in games before the tournament)
1984: 53 teams (five play-in games before the tournament)
1985–2000: 64 teams
2001—present: 65 teams (with an "opening round" game to determine whether the 64th or 65th team plays in the first round)

Also, I just read where the 1-AA playoffs (or whatever it's called now) are expanding from 16 teams to 20 teams and are expected to bump that up to 24 in the near future.

The hardest thing will be getting the playoff. From that point it will be much easier to expand. A playoff precedent must be set first. I think the best number is 16 for a playoff. All conference champs plus at large teams. Keep the bowl system in place. What's the problem?

Almost thirty years ago, Norm Hitzges wrote in Newsweek magazine of his plan to create a playoff using the bowls as regional play-in games (e.g., the winners of the Sun Bowl and Holiday Bowl advance to the Fiesta Bowl, etc.). This is not a new idea.

Hold the quarters on New Year's among the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Orange, a semifinal doubleheader on the Saturday before the NFL confernece games, and a final on the weekend before the Super Bowl.

goodknightfl Wrote:I agree it likely will be 4 only. If they were to go to a full blown playoff system 16 makes the most sense.. 11 conf champs plus 5 at large.

I think you're right. The problem is, the people who make up the BCS would want the Big Six conference champs to get automatic berths and for the others to be at-larges. That isn't likely to happen so they'll try to keep it trimmed down toa 4 team playoff.

3601 Wrote:If they agree to a 4 team playoff it will be only a matter of time before it mushrooms to 16 or more. Just take a look at the NCAA basketball tournament.

1939-1950: eight teams
1951-1974: varied between sixteen teams and 25 teams.
1975–1978: 32 teams
1979: 40 teams
1980–1982: 48 teams
1983: 52 teams (four play-in games before the tournament)
1984: 53 teams (five play-in games before the tournament)
1985–2000: 64 teams
2001—present: 65 teams (with an "opening round" game to determine whether the 64th or 65th team plays in the first round)

Also, I just read where the 1-AA playoffs (or whatever it's called now) are expanding from 16 teams to 20 teams and are expected to bump that up to 24 in the near future.

The problem is, while money was a huge issue, the NCAA also took into account competitiveness, attractiveness and sensibility when it came to expanding the NCAA Tournament. The BCS would take a long, LONG time to mushroom into a Best of 16 tournament simply because the people who control the BCS are more interested in money. But as you and army said, it would set a good precedent and hopefully would lead to a playoff format, but getting there will be 99% of the battle.

i just hope the non bcs conference's don't get an auto bid. how is fair for the 3rd best team from any bcs conference get shafted because the sunbelt gets an auto bid. if conferences get auto bids i could see some major bcs conference juggling to get the conferences smaller.

If they decide to have a 4 team playoff then the BE would be well served to fight like h#ll against it because if they don't they'll never have any shot at all of being in it. You know that the pundits and other coaches will never have a BE team ranked among the top 4. Just look at last years WVU after the bowls where they blew out what was to many the best team out there yet didn't finish in the top 5 while teams like OSU who was once again blown out did.

I think it works like this...

The 16 team conferences recognize they are at a disadvantage under a playoff system and split to guarantee more spots in the tournament. Maybe they stay under the same conference umbrella but the tournament would consider them separate conferences.

So...

SEC East
SEC West
ACC Coastal
ACC Atlantic
Big East
Big Ten East
Big Ten West (add a school and split to get more teams in)
PAC 10
Big XII North
Big XII South
Outside Seed (Notre Dame, C-USA, MWC, WAC, MAC)
Outside Seed (Notre Dame, C-USA, MWC, WAC, MAC)
Outside Seed
Outside Seed
Outside Seed
Outside Seed

By the way, under a playoff system you do not have to be undefeated. You new "team" would be created to win your conference to get into the tournament. There would be many strategies on how to build a team and schedule the regular season.

Example of how this might work last season

Ohio State vs BYU*
LSU vs Clemson*
Virginia Tech vs Florida*
Oklahoma vs Boston College
Georgia vs Arizona State
Kansas vs Illinois
West Virginia vs Missouri*
Southern Cal vs Hawaii*

*Outside Seeds

I'll play it out

Second Round

OSU
BC

KU
USC

WVU
UGA

LSU
UF

Third Round

OSU
USC

UGA
LSU

Championship

OSU
LSU

Champion

LSU

12 teams.

8 auto bids by conference

4 at large

Bowls host the games and rotate.

PS, Hey Rose Bowl: You were not always Big 10 vs Pac 10, so you can man up and join the playoff.

it may be sacriledge, but i say that since there is enough money out there anyway, screw the rose bowl and go without them. if they aren't interested in moving forward, we (college football fans) should not be held hostage to one bowl game and/or two conferences.

it's just my thinking but i think that some of these people supporting the college championship system are just like that talking head on hardball the other day- shouting and repeating weak talking points about appeasement. its all old and tired arguements and these idiots repeating the same lines shows weakness and i believe they can be taken down pretty easily. if there is enough pressure (aka MONEY) to do this, then a new national championship division can be formed for all of the conferences who are for a playoff.

6 conferences could agree to go with that plan- acc, sec, big east, big xii, wac, and mountain west. the big 11 and the pac-10 could then be like the ivy league of division 1a. they can have their intersectional championship game, the rest of the country can then have a playoff. it makes about as much sense as what we have now, maybe even more sense because of an incorporation in a playoff.

animus Wrote:i just hope the non bcs conference's don't get an auto bid. how is fair for the 3rd best team from any bcs conference get shafted because the sunbelt gets an auto bid. if conferences get auto bids i could see some major bcs conference juggling to get the conferences smaller.

I have to disagree on this one. I think all should get a fair shake. Because on any given year, like the ACC, they don't deserve a BCS slot any more than C-USA or the MWC, and certainly not as much as the WAC. That could have been said for the BEast several years ago too. I think all deserve a shot. I'm tired of exclusion. Let it be played out on the field. Who knows how good or how far a Troy, Boise, or BYU could go?

Mike, why the hostility toward the ACC? If it weren't for the ACC, Louisville would still be on the outside looking in.

XLance Wrote:Mike, why the hostility toward the ACC? If it weren't for the ACC, Louisville would still be on the outside looking in.

I think that is true of South Florida and perhaps Cincinnati. But had the ACC not raided the Big East, Mikey T was maneuvering behind the scenes to get Louisville on board with one other member.

In other words, the Big East appears to have been destined to grow to 16 anyway. The difference is that the football schools would have had at least 9 members, possibly 10.

Cheers,
Neil

Neil, are you saying that the other school (other than Louisville) was not either South Florida or Cincinnati? And if not, would you care to share the name of that school?

XLance Wrote:Neil, are you saying that the other school (other than Louisville) was not either South Florida or Cincinnati? And if not, would you care to share the name of that school?

Well, Mikey T. wanted it to be South Florida, but Miami wouldn't consider it. He was always hot for the Tampa market.

By that time, Shalala was already working behind the scenes with FSU to get into the ACC - so it never got beyond the 'brainstorming idea' stage.

Cheers,
Neil