The Bowl Championship Series is dead. College football national champion will be determined by a four team playoff beginning with the 2014 season.
Major provisions of the new format include:
Four contenders selected by a committee, with no automatic qualifying (AQ) status for any conference. The committee’s makeup is undetermined, but is expected to include 10-20 members. Its measures for picking teams will include record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and give favor to conference champions.
Two semifinal games will rotate among six bowl sites and be played Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. The bowl sites are not final but predictably will include the Orange, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Cotton Bowls.
The championship game will be held at a neutral site, awarded by bidding process. The game will be played on the first Monday in January, at least six days after Jan. 1.
There is statement yet from the Big East Conference, but this format will make it extremely difficult for even an undefeated a Big East to qualify for the championship, let alone a premier bowl game – and without that participation the payout will likely be much smaller.
OK Big East fans, weigh in on the changes.