Jump to content

BCS annual meeting: What's on the agenda


Papa_Bull

Recommended Posts


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  375
  • Content Count:  3,144
  • Reputation:   0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  12/23/2001

Sunday, April 25, 2004

Ted Lewis

When the BCS holds its annual meeting this week in Phoenix, expect a lot more talk and a little less action than what many might be hoping.

"There will be no definitive decisions coming out of the meeting, and definitely no announcements," said Big East commissioner and outgoing BCS coordinator Mike Tranghese. "But we'll spend a lot of time discussing a lot of issues."

Indeed they will.

When the commissioners of the 11 Division I-A conferences meet with the directors of the four BCS bowls and executives from ABC Sports, which owns the rights to the games for at least the next two years, they will have a full agenda.

Of immediate concern will be an another attempt to tweak the BCS formula so that a fiasco like last season, when Southern California wound up No. 1 in both polls but LSU and Oklahoma played for the BCS title, doesn't occur again. That could involve reducing the influence of, but not eliminating, the computer rankings.

But the overriding issue will be what happens after the current contracts expire following the 2005 season. The addition of a fifth bowl to the BCS has drawn interest from at least nine games now in the non-BCS ranks. And that's without them knowing on exactly what they're bidding. Tranghese is hedging a bit, even though back in February, when the settlement between the BCS and non-BCS conferences was announced, the fifth game was said to be a full partner with the other four and would have a spot in the championship rotation.

"We want to go into the marketplace and find out what's going on," he said. "We've done some work there, but not enough. It's not a simple thing."

Along with setting the criteria for the game, the commissioners will be setting a timetable for the process, probably to be concluded in the late summer or early fall.

That's because ABC's exclusive negotiating period for the rights begins around then. And without a stand-alone championship to offer, the commissioners have come up the most-attractive package they can muster.

It may be that the BCS winds up on more than one network, much like the NFL playoffs. Word is that CBS, which airs SEC regular-season games plus the conference championship, wants a piece of the action, or it might get out of the college football business altogether.

"Another network would be good," said Orange Bowl executive director Keith Tribble. "We need competition to expand the value of our product."

FBA leftovers

Look for a big reshuffling of bowl tie-ins when most of the current contracts end after next season. With 20 schools changing conferences and the BCS adding a fifth bowl, many of the old alignments are no longer as attractive. Depending on which bowl gets bumped to BCS status, others will be looking to fill the void.

"No matter what happens, it has to make sense for the entire system," said Alamo Bowl president Derrick Fox. "There's going to be a reshuffling of the conference deck for those schools that are below the BCS, and every conference is going to be impacted."

One thing Fox and some of the other bowl heads favor is more flexibility in the contracts, so that teams don't wind up going to the same bowl more than two years in a row or find themselves in rematches from the regular season.

The thinking is that the schools, the fans and the host city would welcome a fresh destination and fresh faces.

"There's a lot of conversation going on," Tribble said. "At some point, I can see that happening. Remember getting the best possible pairings was the idea behind the BCS. As it is, we're going to see a lot of moving around."

One idea is a tiered "draft" by the non-BCS bowls so that the best competitive and geographic matchups could be made.

N.O. Bowl OK

While the NCAA Bowl Certification subcommittee's announcement that the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl would be "renewed with concern" may sound ominous, bowl executive director Ron Maestri said the main concern is with how the number of tickets sold vs. tickets distributed were figured.

Starting last year, bowls are supposed to average either 25,000 or 70 percent of stadium capacity for a three-year period. Announced attendance at last year's New Orleans Bowl was 25,154.

"You are not supposed to have any free admissions, but we wrist-banded the kids that attended through our at-risk youth program and the school bands," Maestri said. "There was some confusion on our part about how you arrive at a turnstile count. It will be worked out. Otherwise, we got nothing but 'excellent' ratings from the two schools. You can't ask for more than that."

I-A Reprieve Likely

Remember that pesky requirement that was due to go into effect this fall, that Division I-A schools must average 15,000 in attendance at football games? Well, it looks to be going by the wayside, or at least the number will be reduced.

The I-A status of as many as 20 schools could have been affected if the rule remains in place.

"There will not be a recommendation," said David Berst, the NCAA's vice-president for Division I. "We just want the (NCAA Division I Board of Directors) to look more carefully at the provisions and provide some instructions about they think is appropriate."

According to NCAA statistics, 11 schools averaged less than 15,000 last season. Another nine were between 15,000-19,000. Two other schools, Florida International and Florida Atlantic, which are scheduled to move to I-A and join the Sun Belt Conference in 2005, were at less than 10,000.

And that's announced attendance -- not actual people in the stands, which the new rule requires.

"What we're hearing is concern on the part of some schools that attendance is not a proper measurement of a I-A school," Berst said. "It's more a measure of your marketability, and there are some places you aren't going to get 15,000 even for free."

When the rule was passed three years ago, the stated intent was to stem the flow of schools from I-AA. But promised enhancement to the I-AA playoffs haven't materialized, and schools continue to want to move up.

Unstated was the belief at the time that a I-A playoff was inevitable, and that a flood of schools moving up would only mean slicing the pie thinner. But the presidents have pretty much made it clear that won't happen anytime soon, so there's no reason to keep the club so exclusive.

If the rule is allowed to stand, schools not hitting 15,000 would be on probation for one year. Two years in a row would mean "unclassified" status. Among other things, that could affect schools conference membership and prevent opponents from playing enough I-A foes to be bowl eligible.

"Obviously, there were some unintended consequences," Berst said. "And there are lot of schools with great histories of competing at the highest level who would be in jeopardy."

With seven of the nine current Sun Belt schools in jeopardy, including his own, it's not surprising that Middle Tennessee president and Board of Directors member Sidney McPhee is in favor of repeal.

"We'd love to have a full stadium," he said. "But for some schools, circumstances -- mainly how successful you are -- make that uncontrollable. There should be standards for being in I-A, and this one sounds good in concept. But ultimately it will have an adverse effect."

The repeal also has the tacit approval of NCAA president Myles Brand.

"There is some discomfort with the rule, and it's legitimate," he said. "We want to make sure the people in I-A really belong there, but the best way to do that may be in terms of scholarships."

Scholarship minimums -- 200 or $4 million worth, with at least 76 in football -- already is one of the other provisions of the new rules, as is a minimum requirement of at least 16 sports. Earlier this year, the board reduced the number of required home games against I-A opponents from five to four for the next two years.

"The thinking seems to be that financial contributions and not marketability should be the benchmark for I-A," Berst said. "The board is going to sit down and think through all of this."

Extra bases

Two schools may be following the path Tulane did a year ago and reassessing their athletic programs. The Rice Board of Trustees has commissioned a study that looks at everything from doing away with athletics to enhancing facilities. Other options are dropping to Division III or dropping football. The football team hasn't made a bowl game since 1961. At San Jose State, the Academic Senate is recommending to new president Paul Yu that football be dropped and funding limited for all other sports. . . . Repeal of the 5/8 rule -- which prohibited Division I men's basketball teams from signing more than five players in one year and more than eight over a two-year period -- could allow for the signing of at least 200 extra basketball players this spring. Research by the National Association of Basketball Coaches showed that 160 schools were unable to get to the maximum 13 scholarships because of the rule. . . . Nebraska fans are responding to the pass-minded offense of new coach Bill Callahan. The Cornhuskers' spring game drew a crowd of 61,417. . . . Kansas may be losing projected starting defensive end John McCoy to the army. McCoy's reserve unit was put on alert last week that it is subject to immediate call-up. . . . Not surprisingly, CBS has scooped up two early-season LSU games, Sept. 18 at Auburn and Oct. 2 at Georgia.

Ted Lewis can be reached at tlewis@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  724
  • Content Count:  10,219
  • Reputation:   2
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  01/17/2002

200 bball players, wow

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  375
  • Content Count:  3,144
  • Reputation:   0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  12/23/2001

ABC ready to propose post-BCS playoff game

By Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff | April 25, 2004

There are Bowl Championship Series meetings scheduled to begin in Phoenix tomorrow, and sources at ABC and within the BCS say television officials are ready to come in with a hardball offer for a "Five Bowl Plus One" plan that would create not only a fifth BCS bowl but a one-game "championship playoff" after the BCS games.

"I've heard some sentiment for that," said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who is finishing up his two-year stint as BCS coordinator. "But I'm almost certain nothing will be decided at the meetings in Phoenix. We might hear some ideas, but I would be very surprised if anything gets done."

But a source familiar with the ABC proposal said, "They're going to come in and try and blow people away with a money offer to get this Five Plus One deal done."

The proposal will be made to commissioners of the six BCS conferences -- Big East, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and Southeastern -- as well as Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, who represents the Irish interests as a full BCS partner.

The catch is that ABC, which controls all four BCS games under the current contract (through the 2005 season), wants exclusive bargaining rights on the deal.

Tranghese says he is not sure that can or should happen.

"That means a long-term commitment [perhaps 10 years] for one network on the main college football bowl games," said Tranghese. "I have some concerns about that."

What is in agreement is that the new BCS contract will expand from four to five bowl games, which would allow greater access to non-BCS leagues such as the Mountain West and Mid-American. The idea of a sixth ("Plus One") game to settle any arguments about the No. 1 team in the country also is gaining support. Tranghese favors it, and a majority of the conference commissioners reportedly are open to the idea.

Had such a system been in place last season, the embarrassment of having the No. 1 team in both polls not given the opportunity to play for the national championship would have been avoided.

Southern Cal was No. 1 in both polls but No. 3 in the BCS rankings behind Louisiana State and Oklahoma, who met in the BCS title game, the Sugar Bowl. USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and was awarded a share of the national title in the Associated Press writers' poll, while LSU beat Oklahoma to claim its half in the coaches' poll.

Under the system ABC will propose, LSU would have met USC in a one-game playoff.

Tranghese also said the BCS is making progress on other details, such as adjustments in the polls that will ensure that a team ranked No. 1 in both will play in the title game.

The BCS also will have to weed through the applicants for the fifth bowl slot. While games such as the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta appear to be front-runners, Tranghese said almost all of the non-BCS bowls have expressed interest and his inclination is to let the process play out. There would be bidding based on several factors, including attendance and financial commitment, rather than any arbitrary selection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  375
  • Content Count:  3,144
  • Reputation:   0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  12/23/2001

Apr 27, 9:25 PM EDT

BCS Considers Adding Another Game

PHOENIX (AP) -- A proposal for adding another game that would match the top two teams after the BCS bowls was discussed by the commissioners of all 11 Division I-A college football conferences Tuesday.

Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said the main emphasis of the meeting, which included representatives from the BCS bowls and ABC Sports, was how to implement a fifth BCS game, which was agreed to in March.

"How to create it. How to manage it. Where it could be played. The impact a fifth game could have on the system economically," said Tranghese, the BCS coordinator.

The possibility of a sixth game between the top teams after the BCS games are played was not the focus of the meeting, Tranghese said.

The Bowl Championship Series agreed to add a fifth game, increasing access for schools not part of college football's most lucrative postseason system.

 

It means a better chance at big bucks for teams in the non-BCS conferences.

The fifth bowl is subject to final approval based on market viability, but all indications point to it being in place when the new BCS contract takes effect before the 2006 season.

The idea of adding a game to be played after the current BCS bowls - Sugar, Orange, Rose and Fiesta - gained attention after last season's split national championship.

LSU won the BCS championship by beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, but Southern California, which beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, was voted No. 1 in The Associated Press media poll.

Had the so-called 'plus-one' model been used last season, LSU and USC would have played in January.

Tranghese said this week's meetings are about gathering information and planning.

"I don't think we're at a point where we are ready to make a decision," he said.

Also taking part in the meetings are an athletic director from each Division I-A conference and Notre Dame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  724
  • Content Count:  10,219
  • Reputation:   2
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  01/17/2002

just go to a playoff

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Group:  Member
  • Topic Count:  9,902
  • Content Count:  66,180
  • Reputation:   2,464
  • Days Won:  172
  • Joined:  01/01/2001

5 plus one model

\

go to 32 game playoff and make billions.make more money than any other sporting event ever

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Tell a friend

    Love TheBullsPen.com? Tell a friend!
  • South Florida Fight Song

     

  • Pick All Before First Game Standings

    1. 1
      50
      MSBulls
      MSBulls
      View picks
    2. 1
      50
      Bob Loblaw
      Bob Loblaw
      View picks
    3. 1
      50
      CSBull96
      CSBull96
      View picks
    4. 1
      50
      flsportsfan83
      flsportsfan83
      View picks
    5. 1
      50
      Peatearpan
      Peatearpan
      View picks
  • TAMPA WEATHER
  • usf-logo2.jpg
    Opponent Message Boards
    "Let them know you're from The Bulls Pen"

    Recommend one

     

    vs Bethune (8/31)

    at Alabama (9/7)  
    TideFans (I)
    TDAlabama (I)

    at So. Miss (9/14)

    vs Miami (9/21)
    Canes Insight (I)
    Miami-Hurricanes (I)

    at Tulane (09/28)
    Ye Olde Green wave (I)

    vs. Memphis (10/11)
    Tigers' Lair (R)

    vs. UAB (10/19) 
    Blazer Talk (CSN)

    at FAU (11/1)
    The Owl's Nest (I)

    vs Navy (11/9)

    at Charlotte (11/16)
    Niner Nation (I)

    at Rice (11/30) 

  • Quotes

    We just went and whooped that ass, didn't we?

    Alex Golesh  

  • Recent Achievements

    • Helpful
      E.T.
      E.T. earned a badge
      Helpful
    • One Year In
      lizbestofficial
      lizbestofficial earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      MariaS
      MariaS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Beth
      Beth earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Great Content
      Gatorbull325
      Gatorbull325 earned a badge
      Great Content
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      Rocky Style
      Rocky Style
      75
    2. 2
      belgianbull
      belgianbull
      39
    3. 3
      Brad
      Brad
      33
    4. 4
      CousinRicky
      CousinRicky
      32
    5. 5
      puc86
      puc86
      28
  • Quotes

    With the climate going on in NCAA athletics, you’re either moving forward at a hard pace or you’re not. I think what intrigued me the most is they’re very determined to become a big player nationally.

    Mitch Hannahs  

×
×
  • Create New...