The next step in major college football’s seemingly inexorable march toward some type of playoff system to determine a national championship will take place Monday, Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News has so kindly reminded us Monday morning.
However, don’t look for much more than a postseason baby step to be taken. If that.
As noted by Carlton -- if you’re a college football fan, follow him on Twitter -- the commissioners of the six BcS conferences will meet today to continue discussions on how the future of the game’s postseason will take shape. While the current BcS cycle runs through the 2013 season, it’s been widely reported that a postseason plan for 2014 and beyond will likely be in place by the end of summer this year.
This next step, baby or not, will take place at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as the commissioners continue the process of whittling “50 or 60" suggestions for a playoff down to something that can be agreed upon by all 11 Div. 1-A (FBS) conferences -- or 10, pending the Mountain West/Conference US merger -- and independents such as BYU and Notre Dame. While it remains unclear just what shape a new postseason would take, all signs point to a four-team dip into the playoff pool above anything beyond that number.
How those four teams would be selected could be a topic of discussion among the power conference commissioners today.
The Big Ten is reportedly in favor of a four-team playoff in which the semifinal games would be played at on-campus venues. The Pac-12 has agreed in principle to put an end to the BcS and implement a playoff system, one in which all four spots would be filled by conference champions. The Big 12’s interim commissioner, Chuck Neinas, has publicly stated that he sides with the Pac-12’s idea of “taking four conference champions.”
The SEC is currently and wholeheartedly against the latter proposal, while also believed to be in need of some convincing on the former.
We’re also guessing that a certain Utah attorney general’s name may come up for discussion.
Again, as Carlton notes, there will likely be precious little “hard news” coming out of today’s meeting. The most important thing, though, is that there is a meeting that serves as the next step in a process that should’ve started -- and resulted in a playoff system -- a long, long time ago.