Fifth BCS game gets an airing

How to implement the proposal was the focus of the discussion.
PHOENIX (AP) -- A proposal for adding another game that would match the top two teams after the BCS bowls was discussed by the commissioners of all 11 Division I-A college football conferences Tuesday.
Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said the main emphasis of the meeting, which included representatives from the BCS bowls and ABC Sports, was how to implement a fifth BCS game, which was agreed to in March.
"How to create it. How to manage it. Where it could be played. The impact a fifth game could have on the system economically," said Tranghese, the BCS coordinator.
The possibility of a sixth game between the top teams after the BCS games are played was not the focus of the meeting, Tranghese said.
Agreed to fifth game
The Bowl Championship Series agreed to add a fifth game, increasing access for schools not part of college football's most lucrative postseason system.
It means a better chance at big bucks for teams in the non-BCS conferences.
The fifth bowl is subject to final approval based on market viability, but all indications point to it being in place when the new BCS contract takes effect before the 2006 season.
The idea of adding a game to be played after the current BCS bowls -- Sugar, Orange, Rose and Fiesta -- gained attention after last season's split national championship.
LSU won title
LSU won the BCS championship by beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, but Southern California, which beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, was voted No. 1 in The Associated Press media poll.
Had the so-called 'plus-one' model been used last season, LSU and USC would have played in January.
Tranghese said this week's meetings are about gathering information and planning.
"I don't think we're at a point where we are ready to make a decision," he said.
Also taking part in the meetings are an athletic director from each Division I-A conference and Notre Dame.
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