Saying the BCS was in an “unprecedented state of health,” ACC commissioner John Swofford announced Wednesday that college football will not change the way it determines its national champion as it prepares to begin negotiations for future television contracts that will probably run through the 2014 season.
“We will move forward in the next cycle with the current format,” said Swofford, who serves as BCS chairman. “I believe the BCS has never been healthier in its first decade.”
The decision, made during a five-hour meeting of 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White at an ocean-front hotel here, wasn’t unexpected. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said earlier this week that he remained opposed to the plus-one format, which would have seeded the top four teams in the final BCS standings and match them in two semifinal games and the winners playing in a national title game.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive made the plus-one proposal Wednesday morning but said there was little support among the commissioners. In fact, Slive said only he and Swofford showed much desire in seriously pushing forward the proposal.
“There isn’t support among the commissioners at this point to move forward with this proposal as we move into the next cycle,” Slive said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the discussions had value and it’s important that we know exactly what we’re going to do with the next cycle.”
Big 12 commissioner Dan Bebee said his league’s member schools voted in March not to support any changes to college football’s postseason.
“There’s a strong feeling in the Big 12 that what we have is working well,” Bebee said. “There’s great satisfaction with the regular season and the postseason.”
Credit: ESPN
