Fans of college football often criticize the Bowl Championship Series lacking a playoff system. BCS coordinator Mike Slive held a teleconference Wednesday to answer questions about the bowl selection process that will happen Sunday as well as offer insight into the possibilities of a playoff system. Slive, also the Southeastern Conference coordinator, said he did not see a tournament style playoff in the works for college football but left open the possibility for another system. “I have been open-minded about whether or not we could modify the format to something that has become known as the so-called ‘plus one’ system,” he said. “We are looking at that as a potential option, but I don’t see anything beyond that.” Slive discussed two possibilities for the BCS system. One potential system would produce an additional set of standings after the bowl games. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams based on that week would then play in the title game. The other possibility would mimic a tournament. The top teams would be seeded in bowls based on the regular season standings with the winners playing for the title the following week. Slive said there are three components that he considers in developing such a system. He said he aims to protect the regular season, the bowl system and the length of the season interfering with the academics of athletes. “There is an academic component,” Slive said. “I know that there are cynics about this, but we are going to keep football as a one semester sport.” He admitted that the undefeated Auburn team in 2004 affected his decision to look into a playoff system. “You know the old saying remember the Alamo,” Slive said. “We remember Auburn. My comments about the ‘plus one’ probably reflect my feelings about that.” He also stressed that there were no immediate decisions being made on the “plus one” system and it might not be a possibility until 2011.
Changes to the Process Slive said the selection pool would be expanded if not enough teams qualify for BCS bowls. “If there are fewer than 10 teams eligible for selection, we would expand the pool from 14 to the top 18 in the BCS standings,” Slive said. Slive also addressed automatic conference selections. “If a bowl game loses a team from its host conference to the [title] game, then that bowl gets what we call a compensatory pick. They get to pick over the normal selection [order],” Slive said. Conferences Without Championship Games Slive discussed the eligibility of programs in the national title game that do not have conference championship games. He said the foundations of the BCS was that each conference would be able to decide how to determine its champion. “In the Big Ten and the Pac-10 they have their tradition,” Slive said. “They don’t want to have a championship game, and I think that is OK. The BCS was not designed to create a monolithic structure where everybody has to do the same thing to determine a champion.” Giving Back He said, New Orleans, the site of this season’s national championship game Jan 7, is beneficial to the city. “Well our impressions are very positive right now,” Slive said. “We are very comfortable that [the city] will successfully host the games. I see this as an opportunity not only to have a great Sugar Bowl and the national championship game, but it is an opportunity for those of us involved and the media to come to New Orleans and make a significant contribution to the recovery of the city.”
—-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]