Tech looks for its first victory in Oklahoma

ESPN-BCS deal bad news for playoff backers

NEW YORK (AP) — The Bowl Championship Series is close to an agreement with ESPN to televise college football’s championship game and biggest bowls — a deal that would throw up a huge barrier to any playoff system for at least six years.

The title game and BCS bowls, save the Rose, are currently on broadcast network Fox and would be going to cable for the first time since the system was implemented in 1998.

“We are currently in the process of finalizing with ESPN a television rights agreement for the BCS games that will be played January 2011 through January 2014,” BCS coordinator John Swofford said. “ESPN has been a great supporter of college football and we are excited to be completing a future deal that will give them an even larger presence in the postseason.”

Fox has broadcast the games since 2007, but a spokesman for the network said it was not going to match ESPN’s offer.

A vocal contingent of college football fans — including President-elect Barack Obama — has clamored for a playoff to determine its champion. They’ll all probably have to wait until January 2014, when this deal would end.

ESPN broadcast partner ABC already has the rights to the Rose Bowl and before the Fox deal, held the rights ever since college football’s major conferences set it up.