Mid-majors could
have a shot at BCSCoaches want non-BCS
conference schools to have a
chance at a big payday as well
WAILUKU >> The University of Hawaii may have another bowl game in its future.
If the American Football Coaches Association has its say, there will be an additional Bowl Championship Series game added to the mix as early as 2006 to accommodate a deserving mid-major program.
In town for this week's Hula Bowl at Maui's War Memorial Stadium, AFCA executive director Grant Teaff said the coaches overwhelmingly believe a good football team not in the current BCS formula should have a shot at a major payday.
"I went from our meetings to the NCAA meetings -- there is a lot of strong sympathy for this concept at the NCAA as well, that is we create another BCS bowl or a methodology whereby the schools not tied into the BCS conferences would have an authentic chance to be in a BCS game," Teaff said.
Several bowls could be considered to fill this void, including the Cotton Bowl. But one that already has begun the groundwork to raise the money is the Capital One Bowl in Florida.
"They have already talked about coming up with funding and so forth and so on," Teaff said. "You should have a vehicle for the Boise States, the TCUs, the Miami of Ohios when they have those great years. It would have been interesting to see what would have taken place had TCU stayed undefeated."
Even if the Horned Frogs had remained unbeaten, they still would have had to work their way through the complicated rankings of the current BCS system. If a game is set aside for a Top 25 program that isn't high enough in the BCS rankings to currently qualify, it will make conferences like the Western Athletic, Mid-American, Mountain West and Conference USA very happy.
"The concept is now, yes, they have a way of working themselves in," Teaff said. "But what our coaches want, and rightly so, is a guaranteed way for the top-ranked of that echelon to have a chance at a BCS bowl game and let the chips fall where they may."
Teaff also believes it's possible the championship games of the major conferences will be eliminated. Everyone will play a 12-game schedule and not have to worry about a championship matchup, such as unbeaten and top-ranked Oklahoma had in its loss to Kansas State.
"Now you've got fairness with everything balanced," Teaff said. "The reason they do conference games is what? Money. We want some changes in the current system as quick as possible in relation to that selection process. If they add a bowl, that will come up at the end of the current contract in 2006."