And here we thought the NFL was the resident king of upstaging another sport's time to shine. Literally moments before the 2012 NFL Draft is scheduled to begin, reports out of Hollywood, Florida are indicating that the BCS will formally endorse a playoff, beginning in 2014.
There are a lot of details left to sort out, but here's what's known at the moment:
- The playoff will feature only four teams. Variations including eight and 16 teams were taken off the table for the time being.
- There will be no weird concession made to the Rose Bowl, so we'll assume the Big 10 and Pac-12 will operate in lock-step with the rest of the conferences.
- There will not be automatic qualifiers, which means that seven-win Big East Champions won't be sent to the title tournament because of requirements.
- The system is NOT a "plus-one," which would pit two teams against each other after the bowls were played. There will be four teams playing each other, with two teams advancing to the title game.
There are still a TON of issues that either haven't been revealed or have yet not been resolved - where the games will be held, if they'll be held outside of the existing BCS bowl structure, the future of big-time bowls like the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta, how exactly the four teams will be determined (polls, computers, selection committees, etc.) and how six "major" conferences will deal with only four open slots a season.
But pause for a second, raise a glass of an enjoyed beverage high, and toast to the death of the BCS... we think.
More on the arrival of a college football playoff (WOOOO!) is available at SB Nation's college football page.