Thursday, June 21, 2012

Notre Dame's Swarbrick announces new BCS playoff format.


All 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference commissioners stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind Notre Dame Fighting Irish Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick, who read the BCS statement from a podium set up in a hotel conference room.

The statement outlined what many considered to be a foregone conclusion.....a BCS playoff system to determine the college football undisputed National Champions.

The agreed proposal will be reviewed by university presidents prior to being presenting to the BCS presidential oversight committee on June 26th.

It is proposed that the playoffs would be worked into the existing major bowls, thus not extending the season which had been a bone of contention with many. What is not specific is the fact in determining the site of the actual championship after the bowl season.

A genuine solution to this is to market the championship game in much the same way the NFL does with the Super Bowl, by allowing cities to make a bid for the game and all the economic benefits that go with it.

"We're very unified. There are issues that have yet to be finalized. There's always devil in the detail, from the model to the selection process, but clearly we've made a lot of progress", Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said.

Still unclear is how the teams will be selected. Currently the Bowl Championship Series uses a combination of the Harris Interactive Poll, Coaches Poll and computer rankings. This formula is widely regarded as the instigator for a playoff system to begin with......so in my opinion, it more than serve's it's purpose, should it remain.

Swarbrick refuted comments on Notre Dame's stance with regard to joining the BiG 12.

"I’ve said all along that there were three important factors for us," Swarbrick said. "One was the resolution of postseason football, which we are closer to. One is a resolution of our media relationship, which we are in the homestretch of.

"The third is related to the stability of the Big East, which we get more information on every day. In that sense, pieces of that are starting to fall into place, and that will put us in a time and place where we probably take a look at it and decide what we’re doing."

"Our interest was ensuring we had an opportunity to play ourselves into any championship model, and we do," Swarbrick said. "There’s no obstacle to that for us. If we earn it, we can play in it."

Jason writes for IrishCentral and domersportsreportYou can find him on twitter at @jayomahony

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