BCS Settles on Six Games, Gives Automatic Bid to Non-BCS Conferences
Champions from non-automatic-qualifier conferences will now have the chance to earn a spot in one of six BCS bowl games, according to a new agreement announced Monday. Under the terms of the deal, the highest-ranked champion from the "Group of Five" non-automatic conferences (Big East, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt) will be guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl game.
The new arrangement takes effect in 2014, when the new playoff system begins. The BCS will consist of six bowl games (Rose, Sugar, Orange and three yet to be named; Fiesta, Cotton and Chick-Fil-A appear to be the early front-runners). Two will serve each year, on a rotating basis, as the hosts for the four playoff teams while the others will continue as traditional bowl games. The Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC all keep their current automatic-qualifying bids.
The playoff is reportedly worth $475 million per year and, under this new agreement, 10 percent of that revenue will be put into a pot for schools to use for academic programs at their institutions.
[ESPN]