The Big East will compete with four conferences that have not had BCS automatic-qualifying status for a guaranteed spot in the lucrative marquee bowl games when college football’s new postseason system starts in 2014
That group of five conferences just won’t have a bowl of its own.
The conference commissioners decided Monday during a meeting with university presidents in Denver that the new four-team playoff will rotate through six games as originally planned.
In September, a proposal was put forth to add a seventh game to the rotation that would match the best team from the Big East, Mountain West, Conference USA, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference against a team from the Pac-12 or Big 12 when it did not play host to a semifinal.
But television networks weren’t all that interested in paying in excess of $20 million a year more for a game that could potentially feature low-profile teams.
The commissioners considered incorporating that best-of-the-rest against the Pac-12 or Big 12 matchup within a six-bowl structure, but that would have locked up too many spots. Instead, a guaranteed bid was created to give the group of five a place in the top games.
“This gives us an opportunity to compete,” Big East commissioner Mike Aresco said after the meeting. “That’s what we want. We’re adding new teams and we think we’re going to be a stronger league. This gives us a chance to prove it.”
The Big East stands to benefit the most from the decision to add the automatic berth.
The rebuilding conference has automatic qualifier status in the Bowl Championship Series, but with the BCS going away the league has been battling to retain its status as one of the power conferences in college football. It’s a battle that could potentially cost the conference millions in bowl revenue and TV rights fees.
While this still relegates the Big East to a place below the other current BCS automatic-qualifying conference (Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and SEC), which all have deals in place with major bowls, it should keep the league playing in high-profile games regularly.
