A Football Final Four

[UNTflyer]

July 17, 2007 -- NEWPORT, R.I. - The question has changed from, "Will There Ever Be a College Football National Championship Game?" to "How Soon Will It Happen?" Sources in several conference offices, athletic directors and television networks told The Post that support is steadily growing for a "Plus-1," format in which there will be a national championship game following the playing of two "semifinal games."

The first title game could be played in 2011.

"There haven't been any official discussions among conference commissioners, but the overwhelming sense is that that's where we're headed," one conference source said. "There's simply too much money at stake and there's been too much debate with the current system."

Under the new format, the top four teams would be seeded, probably using a voter/computer formula similar to the current BCS system and a sixth major bowl game would be created.

The four top-seeded teams would play in two "semifinal" games, using the existing bowls - Orange, Sugar, Rose, Fiesta and the current BCS title game on a rotating basis - with the two winners meeting in a newly created bowl. Theoretically, it would leave less argument over who's No. 1.

"You'll probably never eliminate all the debate, but it's hard for me to imagine a team finishing fifth in the final ratings having a legitimate argument for No. 1," an ACC athletic director said. "Once you get below four, it's a hard sell."

According to several sources, no existing bowl, such as the Cotton, Gator or Outback, would be transformed into the championship game because no conference wants to lose an existing postseason opportunity for its member teams.

The money, more than fixing the current system which has led to almost annual debate over which team truly is No. 1, is the driving force behind the "Plus-1," format.

The BCS recently signed a four-year, $84 million deal with FOX that runs through the 2010 bowl games. The Rose Bowl signed a separate eight-year, $300 million deal with ABC which runs through 2014.

After a huge controversy ensued following the 2004 season, when undefeated Auburn didn't get a chance to play for the national championship, Bodog.com, a sports casino poker site, offered $50 million to sponsor a championship game. The offer was rejected, but that number left many in the college football business salivating.

"There's not going to be a playoff so you can forget that," said one TV executive who is attending the Big East Conference media gathering here. "But a 'Plus-1' is going to happen - sooner rather than later."

For a "Plus-1" to happen, the Rose Bowl would have to be willing to loosen its grip on matching the top Big Ten and Pac-10 representatives. That is considered the biggest stumbling block.

When the Rose Bowl announced its deal with ABC, the BCS was forced to make several concessions, including waiving the league's $6 million BCS entry fee.

The BCS also assured the Rose Bowl that it could retain its Big Ten/Pac-10 alliance, agreed not to require the Rose to accept a team from a non-BCS conference (think Boise St.) and guaranteed that the nation's oldest bowl game would keep its coveted late-afternoon time slot on New Year's Day.

"There's a lot of history in that game with those conferences," one source said. "I understand their position. But I think a 'Plus-1' is inevitable."

[UNTflyer]

"You'll probably never eliminate all the debate, but it's hard for me to imagine a team finishing fifth in the final ratings having a legitimate argument for No. 1," an ACC athletic director said.

Ahem.

1Florida (64) 13-1

2Ohio State12-1

3LSU11-2

4USC11-2

5Boise State (1) 13-0

Edited July 17, 2007 by UNTflyer