Report: New Postseason Format Could Have Eight Bowl Games To Help Increase Access

According to Rachel Bachman in a late night report in the Wall Street Journal, college football conference commissioners are considering expanding the postseason format to, among other things, help ensure access to smaller conference teams (like the Big East). The plan approved back in June was to have six major bowl games, two of which would serve as hosts of national semifinals on an alternating basis, then a championship game in a neutral site. Now, the commissioners are considering a plan to expand the model to include eight bowl games. Bachman writes:

But concerns about access for smaller conferences prompted talk of increasing the number of bowls in the system. BCS leaders will meet this week to discuss access and revenue sharing. The post-2014 bowls will include the Rose, Orange and Champions—which will pit the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences—and at least three others to be determined.

This is obviously encouraging news for fans of current and future Big East teams. With the news yesterday that the Orange Bowl was finalizing a deal to pair and ACC team with essentially anyone but a team from the Big East, it appeared there was virtually no effort going to be made to include the Big East in the new postseason format, even when a member would be deserving (and most years, at least one team from the Big East will finish in the top 12-16 and deserve an invitation to the new postseason). Now, it appears the commissioners are at least giving the access question for other conferences a second look. If they make an objective, clear way for teams from the Big East to earn their way in, it's up to Big East teams to prove that they deserve on the field.

The Big East is never going to be in the ACC's position of securing a spot even without a deserving team. And frankly, they should neither want nor seek such an arrangement. There will probably be years where no Big East team deserves inclusion. All fans of Big East teams want is a guarantee that when deserving, they'll be included.