How long will it take for this 4 team playoff to expand to 8 teams? I think it's onlly a matter of time. I'm guessing no more than 10 years.

If they sign the next BCS TV deal for 10 years as some have suggested, the playoff won't expand for that duration at the minimum.

(06-01-2012 02:32 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  If they sign the next BCS TV deal for 10 years as some have suggested, the playoff won't expand for that duration at the minimum.

True. But if it is a 10 year deal then I expect the next deal to include a field larger than four.

I hope never. I think it depends somewhat on how its structured though. If they use the bowl with the tie-ins, it's a little harder to go past 4 (although the double hosting format didn't end up hurting the push to 4).

(06-03-2012 09:22 PM)3601 Wrote:  

(06-01-2012 02:32 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  If they sign the next BCS TV deal for 10 years as some have suggested, the playoff won't expand for that duration at the minimum.

True. But if it is a 10 year deal then I expect the next deal to include a field larger than four.

Right now, that looks like the path they're leaning toward. 4 team playoff with a 10-year contract. That sucks. I was hoping they would do a typical 4-year cycle.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/col...int.column

League officials remain open-minded about some aspects of the final details. Presidents and chancellors met Sunday at Big Ten headquarters in Park Ridge, and they declined public comment until Monday, when Nebraska's Harvey Perlman, Indiana's Michael McRobbie, league Commissioner Jim Delany and BTN President Mark Silverman will take reporters' questions on a conference call.

But from all indications, the league will not draw a line in the sand on the prickliest remaining issue — the makeup of the playoff. The Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC and Big East favor an automatic berth for the three highest-ranked conference champions — plus a wild-card fourth team.

(06-03-2012 09:22 PM)3601 Wrote:  

(06-01-2012 02:32 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  If they sign the next BCS TV deal for 10 years as some have suggested, the playoff won't expand for that duration at the minimum.

True. But if it is a 10 year deal then I expect the next deal to include a field larger than four.

I would agree. I think the hope of the conference/bowl powers is that if they sign a 10-year deal that they keep the scope creep out of the playoffs. However, by the end of the 10 years, there may be so much outcry that they have to expand.

Maybe I feel this way because my school is and has been in CUSA for the last 20 years, but it irritates me that nobody ever discusses or mentions what The MWC, CUSA, Sunbelt, WAC, MAC, et al think or believe is the best resolution for the 4-team playoff format.
Those conferences have just as much right to vote as the others, and their vote counts just as much as the PAC, B1G, SEC, etc.

(06-03-2012 09:51 PM)Borncoog74 Wrote:  Maybe I feel this way because my school is and has been in CUSA for the last 20 years, but it irritates me that nobody ever discusses or mentions what The MWC, CUSA, Sunbelt, WAC, MAC, et al think or believe is the best resolution for the 4-team playoff format.
Those conferences have just as much right to vote as the others, and their vote counts just as much as the PAC, B1G, SEC, etc.

Its because that their vote actually doesnt count as much. Sure, in theory the votes are equal---but they really are not. The BCS is simply a contract between the 6 original AQ conferences. The others are just kind of along for the ride.

The reality is the BCS is nothing more than a multi-conference bowl tie in agreement. As it stands today, the Big 4 conferences could pretty much do thier own national championship thing and likely still sell it to TV. On the other hand, the left out non-big 4 conferences couldnt do the same thing and realistcally call it a national championship. It would have little TV value to the networks without the big 4.

Thus, the remaining conferences outside of the Big 4 dont have much real power. Where they might have a little leverage is in the NCAA, where the non-Big 4 schools would have a sizable majority. This is why I expect to see reasonably favorable treatment for the ACC and Big East with respect to BCS pay out shares. Basically, they still need the ACC and Big East schools to maintain a majority vote in the NCAA.