Western Athletic Commissioner Karl Benson is hoping that logic and reason prevail.
With bowl committees?To quote Troy Aikman in an L.A. Gear commercial: "Get real."
Benson, on behalf of the WAC, has threatened legal action if sixth-ranked BYU defeats Wyoming and is left out of the bowl alliance, the three bowls (Sugar, Fiesta and Orange) that pay out about $8.5 million per team.
As such he was slated to have a conference call with WAC college presidents today to discuss strategy.
If the at-large spots aren't truly available to an outside team, there might be anti-trust and restraint of trade implications, he said. "We don't know that. Only a judge and jury could determine that."
There are reports such as this one by Denver Post sports writer Tom Kensler - "One alliance bowl executive said the threat of a lawsuit by the WAC is a real concern and may pressure the Fiesta into taking BYU" - that are being given credence.
There is also a feeling that if a lawsuit is filed, it could bring about the collapse of the bowl structure and usher in a playoff system.
ONE MORE YEAR: The bowl alliance agreement has one more year to run.
That's too long before action needs to be taken to modify it, according to Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson.
As it stands now, a WAC school, like BYU this year, must compete with Notre Dame and any number of other schools for one of the two at-large berths in one of the $8.5 million alliance bowls (Sugar, Fiesta and Orange).
Benson would like to see an agreement put in force next year whereby if the WAC has a team ranked in the top 12 at the end of the season, it gets an automatic berth in an alliance bowl rather than have to fight for one of the at-large spots.
LOBBYING FOR COLORADO: The Big 12 and Colorado would like to see the 7th ranked Buffaloes get one of the two at-large bids. As such, they're reminding the Fiesta Bowl that under terms of the new alliance, that will include the Rose Bowl and go into effect with the 1998 season, the Big 12 will be the so-called anchor team for the Fiesta Bowl. So, the Big 12 is saying, why not start the arrangement a couple of years early?
It also is being pointed out to bowl committee members that Colorado's coach, Rick Neuheisel, was raised in Phoenix.
NEBRASKA IN HOLIDAY BOWL? Holiday Bowl officials feel they've got a shot at landing the Cornhuskers should they lose Saturday to Texas. Reports indicate that Nebraska would rather play in the Holiday Bowl than the Cotton Bowl if it isn't chosen for an alliance bowl.
DALLAS SHOULD COTTON TO COUGARS: This from Cathy Harasta of the Dallas Morning News:
This (bowl alliance) controversy, however, has done wonders for BYU. The Cougars have become interesting mainly because they developed into such a headache for the big-shot alliance.
BYU has had at least as much ink as higher-ranked programs in recent weeks. It has gathered fans who never heard of it until it appeared to be bound for victimization. BYU has become a hot item on the strength of its supposed lack of TV appeal. Its imagined lack of status actually might have become a selling point.
That's why the Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl, which could select the WAC champion if the alliance passes on BYU, could become the toast of the non-alliance bowls. The Cotton Bowl should go for it, if it gets the chance to go Cougars.
Cotton Bowl executive director Rick Baker must wait for the weekend and watch what happens in the conference championships, and then what happens to BYU concerning the Alliance.
Said Baker: "We've looked at it that BYU certainly has a national presence."
And an increasingly devoted following that wants to see college football's unknown soldier.