New BCS structure

[cartman]

WTF? What leverage does Notre Dame still have that they now will get BCS money, whether they make a BCS game, or don't win a game at all? What enticement is there for them to improve to be a BCS team once again, if they get paid no matter what? I do like some of the things they are talking about, but it still seems like they want to do anything but a playoff system.

hxxp://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2048224&num=0

Automatic bids won't be limited to six conferences
Associated Press

PHOENIX -- The Bowl Championship Series is opening its automatic bids to all Division I-A conferences starting with the 2007 season, part of a new plan under which the leagues will be judged from top to bottom.

Currently, only the six conferences that comprise the BCS can earn automatic entry into college football's four major bowl games, including the national title game. The previous standard for holding on to that qualification was based on the average BCS standings finish of a conference's top team over a four-year period.

That will still be a factor, but not the only one.

"In addition, we will look at a conference's overall strength," BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg said Wednesday, the final day of meetings with officials from 11 major college football conferences and Notre Dame's athletic director.

The BCS will also take into account the number of teams in a conference that finish in the BCS top 25 over a four-year period.

In addition, there is a proposed appeals process if a conference doesn't match up with the others under the new formula but still believes it belongs in the BCS.

"We're set through the first two years [2005-06] of the new agreement, with the same six conferences having the automatic-qualification berths," said Weiberg, the Big 12 commissioner. "This evaluation will then occur, and it could change for the final two years of this new agreement."

The BCS signed a four-year deal with Fox to televise the Sugar, Fiesta and Orange bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09. The Rose Bowl has its own television deal with ABC.

Weiberg said the new evaluation system could lead to more -- or less -- automatic bids.

The Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10, Southeastern, Atlantic Coast and Big East champions have had automatic entry into the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls since the BCS was implemented in 1998.

Other standards were set to allow teams from outside the BCS conferences to qualify automatically, but not until last year when Utah earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl had a team from outside one of the big six conferences played in the BCS.

The BCS also decided to expand to five games last year. Starting with the 2006 season, 10 teams will qualify for the BCS, with the top two meeting in a newly created championship game to be played a week after the four major bowls.

The addition of another game and the new evaluation process for automatic entry were prompted by protests from the five lower-revenue conferences -- such as the Mountain West, where Utah plays, and Conference USA -- that the BCS was unfairly shutting out dozens of schools.

Of the original six BCS conferences, the Big East would appear to be most affected by the changes. The league lost Miami and Virginia Tech last season to the ACC; Boston College follows this year. However, the addition of Louisville this year, along with South Florida and Cincinnati, should help the Big East's chances of keeping its elite status.

Weiberg said Louisville, which finished 10th in the BCS standings last year while playing in C-USA, will be included in the Big East's evaluation and should help the league retain its bid.

"The reason for that is that we're trying to get an assessment looking forward of the prospective strength of the conference, even though it will be based on past performance," Weiberg said.

Beginning in 2006, Notre Dame will earn an automatic BCS berth with a top eight ranking in the final standings, Weiberg said. Also, under a new arrangement, Notre Dame is now guaranteed BCS money every season -- even when they don't play in a game. In the past, Notre Dame would receive upward of $14 million when they played in a BCS game, but nothing if they didn't.

The proposal and others developed in Phoenix are subject to review by an 11-person committee formed by university presidents. Weiberg said that would be done in a teleconference call on May 12.

He said the athletic directors who met in Phoenix will do more teleconferencing and possibly have one more meeting to fine-tune proposals -- especially the makeup of the replacement poll to take the place of The AP poll in the new BCS standings formula -- before the Collegiate Commissioners Association meetings in Denver on June 20.

The new poll will not be unveiled until June at the earliest.

[Young Drachma]

Umm..something about them being America's team or some shit.

Or maybe because they're a major independent and people are assuming that Charlie Weis is gonna bring them back. So they're getting off easily now by giving them something, with Notre Dame probably saying "dude, we're like a conference."

I was confused by it, too. But hey..they had their own TV deal for a while. Whatever they feed folks, must work.

[st.cronin]

This is too confusing for me.

[timmynausea]

Total bullshit.

[timmynausea]

Ok this is interesting. Sort of the other side of the coin, I suppose.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/8424759

Beginning in 2006, the maximum Notre Dame can earn from a BCS appearance is $4.5 million. That's the same amount currently earned by second teams from conferences in BCS bowls.

That's $10 million less than they'd earn for an appearance in the current deal.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Puts a new meaning to ''Shakedown the thunder from the sky....''

[Mr. Wednesday]

Looks like it pays off for the BCS if Notre Dame makes a string of appearances and doesn't if they don't.

[MrBigglesworth]

Unless I am reading this incorrectly, it doesn't look like it does much for minor conferences that happen to have really good teams one year, despite the 'anyone can get an automatic bid' rhetoric. To get an automatic bid, conferences must have teams in the top 25 for 4 years. That doesn't really help one-year wonder schools.

Same stuff, different day.

[Darkiller]

I'm not aware of this whole thing but I just dont get how "a" College program could earn BCS money even if they don't play a game.
Just hate ND.

[Noop]

Seriously that shit doesn't make any sense.... either join a conference or go away.

[Airhog]

dont teams from a conference share BCS money? If so, then I could see why they would want to give ND some cash.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Airhog

dont teams from a conference share BCS money? If so, then I could see why they would want to give ND some cash.

Ah keyword is conference... they are not in one...

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Noop

Ah keyword is conference... they are not in one...

Yeah but the Sun Belt teams get money from the BCS too, even tho they are never going to sniff a BCS game. Notre Dame getting 500K more a year isn't a big deal.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Yeah but the Sun Belt teams get money from the BCS too, even tho they are never going to sniff a BCS game. Notre Dame getting 500K more a year isn't a big deal.

What makes them so special? Are they the only indy who gets money? If so then either they get none or you give the others equal treatment.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Noop

What makes them so special? Are they the only indy who gets money? If so then either they get none or you give the others equal treatment.

I think Army and Navy get paid too.

[General Mike]

Dola - I do think those motherfuckers should join the Big East for football, but they won't so fuck them.

[Blackadar]

BCS = joke.

[KWhit]

This is stupid. Why don't they use that 5th game to let the top 2 teams play again, instead of just adding 2 mediocre teams to the mix.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Dola - I do think those motherfuckers should join the Big East for football, but they won't so fuck them.

Isn't Army in the C-USA?

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by KWhit

This is stupid. Why don't they use that 5th game to let the top 2 teams play again, instead of just adding 2 mediocre teams to the mix.

How would you decide which teams are the Top 2 teams? I'd think that there will always be a controversy, where three teams who won one of the first 4 BCS games would claim they should be in it.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Isn't Army in the C-USA?

Yep, they are. ND, Navy, and Temple are the only independents.

[General Mike]

Last year was Army's last in C-USA. They are independent again.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Last year was Army's last in C-USA. They are independent again.

Dang it, there were too many conference changes after last season to keep track of...

[digamma]

It's now harder for ND to get into the BCS, and the upside is less if they do get in. To get them to agree to that deal, it seems the BCS paid them off a bit for the downside.

I think it makes some sense.

[JeeberD]

Bah, doubt this is going to help the Miners when we go undefeated this year...

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Bah, doubt this is going to help the Miners when we go undefeated this year...

Why not? Wouldn't it increase their chances or getting a BCS spot? It might hurt them in a few years, but for the next two years, the time is ripe.

[QuikSand]

Why do fans care so much about the money schools get from bowl games?

[JeeberD]

The money the athletic department gets from bowl games is huge to schools with smaller athletic budgets, such as UTEP...

[scooper]

Honestly, ND fans are pissed about this deal. The prevailing thinking seems to be, "If we earn a BCS bid, we want the whole payout. If we don't earn it, to hell with the annual $1 million."

This really isn't a good deal for ND if Weis is successful. C'mon, a maximum of $4.5?

As for the get in a conference or get out thing. Why? If your school could get the money another way without sharing it with a conference, they all would in a heartbeat and you know it. The benefit of a conference is guaranteed revenue. ND has this from other places. Why does it bother people so much if they are independent? It's not like they are fattening up on weak schedules. They still play top competition. It's also not like conferences are recognized by the NCAA. They are not. Conferences are completely independent of the NCAA. Nobody HAS to be in one.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by cartman

WTF? What leverage does Notre Dame still have.

The highest rated college football games every year are Army/Navy, followed by 8 or 9 Notre Dame games.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Samdari

The highest rated college football games every year are Army/Navy, followed by 8 or 9 Notre Dame games.

Maybe in years past, but the last two seasons ND on NBC has been getting around a 2.4 rating, and NBC is making noises like they are going to either drop or drastically renegotiate the terms once the current contract is over.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Samdari

The highest rated college football games every year are Army/Navy, followed by 8 or 9 Notre Dame games.

Notre Dame is still a draw, as evidenced by this article, but they aren't that big of a draw.

http://und.collegesports.com/sports/...010505aab.html

And, I'd bet Army-Navy hasn't been in the top 25 for several years.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Why do fans care so much about the money schools get from bowl games?

Because money is what drives nearly everything in college football. Therefore money is power.

Money spent on the program also has a direct correlation with success.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Why do fans care so much about the money schools get from bowl games?

Well...among other things, VT built a new IT center with the BCS money we've collected over the past few years. I tend to like it when my alma mater makes positive strides in academics...especially in my field.