Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, who headed the BCS presidential oversight committee, is all smiles after announcing a new four-team playoff. (Matt Michaels/Medill News Service)
A Final four, in college football…
WASHINGTON — You wanted playoffs, you got it.
A new era in college football has begun after 14 years under the BCS. The 12 college presidents agreed to the four-team, seeded playoff system presented by the BCS in Washington on Tuesday.
Looking at the structure of the two semi-final games, they will be rotated among six bowl sites, which could include the four BCS bowl sites. The new playoff system will go into effect in the 2014/2015 season.
Playoffs!?! Rundown of college football’s new postseason
The BCS as we know it is dead. Starting in 2014-15, college football will launch a new four-team playoff to determine a national champion. Here are the highlights of the new format:
– A selection committee, similar to college basketball, will select the four best teams to play in two national semifinal games
– Committee will rank four best teams based on W/L record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and conference championships
– No limit on the number of teams from one conference that can participate; “automatic qualification” has been eliminated
– The two semifinal games will take place on New Year’s Eve and/or New Year’s Day
– Semifinal games will rotate between six bowl sites
– National Championship game – “Championship Monday” – will take place on the first Monday in January that is six or more days after the final semifinal game is played
– Presidents agreed on a twelve-year term for new format, running from 2014-15 through 2025-2026 season
– First “Championship Monday” will take place on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015
– No consensus yet on distribution of revenue.
— Matt Michaels, Medill News Service, @mattrmichaels
The championship game, the new game, will be in a neutral site. That site will be determined by the BCS after cities across the country place a bid to be the site of the big game. The winning two teams from the ‘final four of football’ will play six or more days after the last playoff game on a Monday.
The BCS will create a new committee to select the four teams to play in the semi-finals. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said they don’t know who will be on the committee at this time but they are looking for people who “are very familiar with college football.”
The committee may consist of 15 members but there is no confirmation of the structure of the committee at this time. The presidents did agree today that the committee will rank the teams to play in the playoffs giving all teams an equal chance.
Among the deciding factors will be the win-loss record, strength of the schedule, head-to-head results and whether the team is a conference champion. What isn’t out the question is that more than one team of a single conference could play in the semifinals or even the finals.
Delany said the health of the athletes was a concern. “We asked the players and it was almost unanimous that they want to play in a fifteenth game.”
Some things left to be determine are money and access. TV rights have not been determined, but the BCS does have a contract with the world wide leader in sports, ESPN.
The presidents’ concept for dealing with the money would include rewarding conferences for success on the field, accommodating teams’ expenses, acknowledging marketplace factors and rewarding academic performance of student-athletes.
The first championship game will be on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. There’s already a new buzzword for the big game –“Championship Monday” — and we do know this Monday game will last for 12 years.
–Malena Caruso, @mcaruso2, Medill News Service
“Step in the right direction”: Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford talks college football playoff
-Matt Michaels, Medill News Service, @mattrmichaels
Big Ten commissioner excited about college football’s big change
-Malena Caruso, @mcaruso2, Medill News Service
Wrap-up: Malena and Matt discuss college football’s new playoff
-Matt Michaels and Malena Caruso, Medill News Service
Malena and Matt talk playoff possibilites
College football expected to announce a new playoff system at 6:30 EDT – Malena Caruso and Matt Michaels discuss the possibilities.
-Matt Michaels and Malena Caruso, Medill News Service
Live update from Malena Caruso outside the BCS meeting
Malena Caruso reports from The Dupont Circle Hotel where the BCS is presenting a four-team playoff system to the Presidential Oversight committee. The committee is made up of 12 university presidents. If the presidents accept the playoff structure it will go into effect in 2012. A decision could come as late at 10 pm EDT or as early as 6:30 pm EDT.
**Word flub- I said four-game instead of four-team playoff. It is correct in the text.
-Malena Caruso, Medill News Service