The Southeastern and Big 12 conferences' announcement Friday of a bowl game between their champions revived the possibility of a "plus-one" title game after the bowls, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told The Wall Street Journal. Scott called Friday's announcement of the new postseason pairing a "game-changer."
The so-called Big 12/SEC "Champions Bowl," to start after the 2014 season, is similar to the Rose Bowl, which traditionally has paired the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions. A national-title game that matched the Champions Bowl and Rose Bowl winners could work as long as there was a way to include teams not in those four conferences, Scott said.
"I'd say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn't have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday's a game-changer," Scott said. "We're pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it's possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction."
The 11 conference commissioners in the Bowl Championship Series and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick last month agreed to explore the possibility of a four-team playoff, which would be a first for major-college football.
"At this point in the process, the discussion and momentum seems to surround a four-team, three-game approach," Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "As we continue to focus on finding an option that leads to a consensus among the group, we'll have to see if that involves the consideration of other models, including the simplified plus-one."
Spokesmen for the SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame declined to comment. The other major conferences didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
BCS leaders are working toward reaching a consensus on a postseason model to start after the 2014 season, when the current BCS TV-rights deal with ESPN expires. The BCS has a negotiating window with ESPN in October. Teams in a plus-one game would be selected after the bowls, rather than placed in seeded semifinal games. It's unclear how the championship-game teams would be selected.
If BCS leaders decide on a four-team playoff, Scott said he would prefer holding semifinals at existing bowl games rather than "going to a more anemic, corporate environment at a neutral site that might be Dallas one year, might be Atlanta another year."
Expecting fans to travel to neutral sites for consecutive games is "being a bit myopic and not really respecting what it means to fans financially," Scott said.
The Big 12/SEC game has been referred to by some as the "Rose Bowl East," a nickname Scott called "very flattering to the Rose Bowl."
Wall Street Journal
The so-called Big 12/SEC "Champions Bowl," to start after the 2014 season, is similar to the Rose Bowl, which traditionally has paired the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions. A national-title game that matched the Champions Bowl and Rose Bowl winners could work as long as there was a way to include teams not in those four conferences, Scott said.
"I'd say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn't have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday's a game-changer," Scott said. "We're pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it's possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction."
The 11 conference commissioners in the Bowl Championship Series and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick last month agreed to explore the possibility of a four-team playoff, which would be a first for major-college football.
"At this point in the process, the discussion and momentum seems to surround a four-team, three-game approach," Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "As we continue to focus on finding an option that leads to a consensus among the group, we'll have to see if that involves the consideration of other models, including the simplified plus-one."
Spokesmen for the SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame declined to comment. The other major conferences didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
BCS leaders are working toward reaching a consensus on a postseason model to start after the 2014 season, when the current BCS TV-rights deal with ESPN expires. The BCS has a negotiating window with ESPN in October. Teams in a plus-one game would be selected after the bowls, rather than placed in seeded semifinal games. It's unclear how the championship-game teams would be selected.
If BCS leaders decide on a four-team playoff, Scott said he would prefer holding semifinals at existing bowl games rather than "going to a more anemic, corporate environment at a neutral site that might be Dallas one year, might be Atlanta another year."
Expecting fans to travel to neutral sites for consecutive games is "being a bit myopic and not really respecting what it means to fans financially," Scott said.
The Big 12/SEC game has been referred to by some as the "Rose Bowl East," a nickname Scott called "very flattering to the Rose Bowl."
Wall Street Journal
