Major NCAA Changes on the Horizon

[Harry]

NEW YORK -- Maybe we won't need to cross our fingers and toes. The "plus-one" -- a four-team college football playoff -- is under serious consideration in conferences that previously stood firm against any idea of a bracketed tournament. How serious?

"I happen to agree with my conference colleagues about the plus-one game," Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said Wednesday. "I think it's inevitable at this point."

Speaking at the IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, several influential athletic directors made a few things clear.

• The plus-one is coming.

• The way we view the bowl hierarchy likely will change.

• The NCAA's approval of up to a $2,000-per-athlete stipend to offset the actual cost of attending a university is the first major step toward a separation of Division I's haves and have-nots, and it could be the first step toward a break from the NCAA by the wealthiest schools.

None of the athletic directors who spoke Wednesday voiced support for a full-fledged, NFL-style playoff, but they did acknowledge the possibility of a change that would allow four teams to compete for the national title at the end of the season. "I was vehemently against it initially," UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said, "but I'm a little more open to the discussion as it relates to a plus-one." The fact that two athletic directors in the Pac-12 -- a league long known for its resistance to a playoff -- would concede the possibility of a change is a major step. Monday, Big 12 athletic directors voted to throw their support behind the plus-one. The SEC and ACC supported a four-team playoff in 2008, but they were rebuffed by the other conferences.

That isn't the only major change in the works. The idea of BCS bowls may change as well. For the past few weeks, conference and school officials have hinted at the idea of taking away automatic qualifying bids to BCS bowls. Now, some schools would like to see the special designation for certain bowls taken away unless the system for placing teams into those bowls is based on achievement and not the Old Boy Network that currently guides the decision-making process. The Sugar Bowl's decision to match BCS No. 11 Virginia Tech against BCS No. 13 Michigan has rankled many in the sport. In choosing the Hokies and Wolverines, the bowl bypassed higher-ranked, eligible teams from Boise State, Kansas State and Baylor.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/12/07/img-forum-plus-one-ncaa/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a2