The Gator, Blockbuster and John Hancock bowls have been picked to participate in the second tier of a bowl alliance organized in January.
The commissioners of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Eight, Pac-10 and Southwest Conferences met last week during the College Football Association meetings in Dallas to organize the alliance and announced it Monday.Teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Eight, Pac-10 and SWC - excluding the champion of each league - will be available for selection by the Fiesta Bowl and the two Florida bowls in the so-called Coalition II.
An alliance involving the Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Fiesta bowls was forged in January. Under that plan, champions of the Big Eight, SWC and Southeastern Conference will still head to Miami, New Orleans and Dallas, but their opponents as well as the Fiesta Bowl teams won't be determined until after the regular season.
The four primary games will pick from among Notre Dame, two at-large teams and the champions of the Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences, based on The Associated Press poll.
Once these selections have been completed, the remaining three at-large teams will be available to Bowl Coalition II, which will select one team each. The Gator Bowl will select first, followed by the Blockbuster and John Hancock bowls.
The Rose Bowl, which matches champions from the Big Ten and Pac-10, is not part of the alliance, which made a nine-year deal.
In January, the Big East and ACC rejected an offer to send their champion to the Blockbuster Bowl.