Slowly, ever so slowly, college football is moving toward a true national championship game.
And the way bowl officials were talking on Thursday, that day might not be too far off. In fact, Jack French, executive director of the Tournament of Roses Association, says the Rose Bowl is very close on a proposal with the bowl alliance that would add the the Big Ten and Pac-10 into the national title mix.French said a deal could be struck within 60 days. And that could lead to a long-awaited true national title game by January 1999.
"What we're trying to do is accommodate the Big Ten and Pac-10," French said of the Rose Bowl, which matches the champions of the two conferences but is not in the alliance. "We've made good progress and we're hoping something will happen in the best interests of college football."
The bowl alliance includes the ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences, Notre Dame and the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange bowls. Since the Rose Bowl matches the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions, the alliance picks the two highest-ranked teams from the rest of the group to play in either the Fiesta, Sugar or Orange bowls.
Last year, the first of a six-year bowl alliance package, the setup worked perfectly, with No. 1 Nebraska meeting No. 2 Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. This season, the Sugar Bowl hosts the top game, with the Orange Bowl set to host the best matchup after the 1997 season.
A deal to bring the Rose Bowl into the bowl alliance would take time because an assortment of contracts between conferences and TV networks would have to either expire or be re-worked.
"The bowl alliance, the conference commissioners and Notre Dame are looking at various options. This is not a Rose Bowl decision," French said. "We've told them what we'll do to accommodate them to help get No. 1 vs. No. 2."
Neither French nor Roy Kramer, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, would discuss details of the latest talks.
"Yes, we've had serious discussions," Kramer said. "And that would include participation in some fashion of the Pac-10 and Big Ten champs if they qualify as No. 1 or 2.
"There is no agreement at this point in time. Time will tell if the discussions are fruitful."
Although the Rose Bowl is willing to enter the bowl alliance, it has one stipulation. If the Big Ten and Pac-10 champs end up Nos. 1 and 2 in the AP writers' poll and CNN-USA Today's coaches' poll, the Rose Bowl must be the site of the national title game. The other bowls are said to be against such a requirement.
Still, all parties appear headed in the right direction.
The bowl alliance deal has a renewal clause. After three years, which would fall on April 15, 1997, the alliance can be terminated if a majority of members fail to agree on renewal.
Earlier this week, the six conferences and Notre Dame met in Chicago to discuss how to bring the Rose Bowl into the national title picture. USA Today reported that ABC, which has the rights to the Rose and Sugar bowls, initiated the talks, and could eventually wind up as the sole network of a revised bowl alliance.
Currently, CBS is in the second of a six-year deal to televise the Fiesta and Orange bowls.