SEC against Big 12/ACC Championship Game Change
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 5:25 pm
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Big 12's hopes for permission to hold a football conference title game with just 10 members just got more complicated.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Sunday morning here that the his league will not support a proposal by the Big 12 and ACC that would deregulate conference football title game rules. Currently, conferences must have at least 12 members and two divisions to hold a title game. The Big 12 would like the option of holding a football title game with its current 10 members after playing a single-division round-robin schedule.
If the vote doesn't pass, the Big 12 could eventually face a scenario where it might be forced to expand despite an absence of top candidates. The absence of a conference title game in 2014 played a role in the Big 12 not making the College Football Playoff and may have factored in Oklahoma falling from a third seed to No, 4 in the final rankings this year.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was still hopeful Sunday of some kind of agreement.
"I do not think full deregulation will be accepted but it seems we might have a compromise that might work," Bowlsby said in a text message.
He declined to offer details but added that if the Big 12 "could get a situation where we are not forced to play divisions and are not forced [to] expand, we will be OK."
Sankey's declaration puts the current proposal on shaky ground.
"The legislation currently identified, those proposals are not something we are inclined to support," Sankey said. "We do have an interest in understanding the Big 12's current situation - that if they have an interest in a championship game or finding if there's another alternative legislatively that can be pursued."
The vote is scheduled for Wednesday as part of the NCAA convention in San Antonio. Each of the power five conferences count as two votes. The group of five conferences have one vote each.
An amendment by the Big Ten that would force conferences to have two divisions with the champions meeting regardless of size. The Big 12 has opposed the amendment..
ACC commissioner John Swofford said Sunday that he thought the deregulation proposal would pass easily about a year ago.
"We'll just have to see now," Swofford said.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has raised concerns that the ACC might use deregulation to circumvent current conference title game rules.
"Obviously, it's a bigger issue for the Big 12 than it is for anyone else," Swofford said. "We've been very supportive of what Bob Bowlsby has put forward and his desire to have some freedom there from Day 1.
"But it's based mainly on philosophical beliefs on that fundamental autonomy for the conferences than any real desire for what we would do."
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Sunday morning here that the his league will not support a proposal by the Big 12 and ACC that would deregulate conference football title game rules. Currently, conferences must have at least 12 members and two divisions to hold a title game. The Big 12 would like the option of holding a football title game with its current 10 members after playing a single-division round-robin schedule.
If the vote doesn't pass, the Big 12 could eventually face a scenario where it might be forced to expand despite an absence of top candidates. The absence of a conference title game in 2014 played a role in the Big 12 not making the College Football Playoff and may have factored in Oklahoma falling from a third seed to No, 4 in the final rankings this year.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was still hopeful Sunday of some kind of agreement.
"I do not think full deregulation will be accepted but it seems we might have a compromise that might work," Bowlsby said in a text message.
He declined to offer details but added that if the Big 12 "could get a situation where we are not forced to play divisions and are not forced [to] expand, we will be OK."
Sankey's declaration puts the current proposal on shaky ground.
"The legislation currently identified, those proposals are not something we are inclined to support," Sankey said. "We do have an interest in understanding the Big 12's current situation - that if they have an interest in a championship game or finding if there's another alternative legislatively that can be pursued."
The vote is scheduled for Wednesday as part of the NCAA convention in San Antonio. Each of the power five conferences count as two votes. The group of five conferences have one vote each.
An amendment by the Big Ten that would force conferences to have two divisions with the champions meeting regardless of size. The Big 12 has opposed the amendment..
ACC commissioner John Swofford said Sunday that he thought the deregulation proposal would pass easily about a year ago.
"We'll just have to see now," Swofford said.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has raised concerns that the ACC might use deregulation to circumvent current conference title game rules.
"Obviously, it's a bigger issue for the Big 12 than it is for anyone else," Swofford said. "We've been very supportive of what Bob Bowlsby has put forward and his desire to have some freedom there from Day 1.
"But it's based mainly on philosophical beliefs on that fundamental autonomy for the conferences than any real desire for what we would do."