Fiesta Officials Try New Plan to Save Bowl Alliance

Maybe there is hope for the bowl alliance, after all.

Considered a lost cause, thanks to the recent infighting and bickering among its members, the consortium is attempting a comeback. According to those familiar with the alliance, Fiesta Bowl officials are prepared to present a plan that might solve the coalition’s most pressing problem: How to ensure the best postseason matchups, make possible a national championship scenario and create a system of so-called “backup bowls,” which would prevent member conference runners-up from getting frozen out on bid day.

Under the Fiesta’s proposal, the Gator, Citrus, Hall of Fame and Hancock bowls would serve as a safety net for the coalition. At present, the coalition includes the Fiesta, Cotton, Orange and Sugar bowls, to which Notre Dame and the champions of the Southeastern, Southwest, Atlantic Coast, Big Eight and Big East conferences are committed.

But if approved, the alliance would grow by one conference--the Pacific 10--and the four secondary bowls. The Gator, Citrus, Hall of Fame and Hancock would then be responsible for taking the runners-up of the six conferences involved in the coalition.

The proposal hasn’t been put to a vote; that probably will come when all the parties meet in Anaheim at the NCAA Convention. Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said Sunday that he thinks his conference’s athletic directors could live with it. Of course, Tranghese, as well as the ACC, have to make a decision soon. The Big East and the ACC have been offered a $4.3-million deal to commit to the Blockbuster Bowl, which isn’t a member of the coalition.

Another potential problem is the SEC. There is talk that the league might commit its second-place team to the Citrus Bowl, which, of the four secondary bowls, pays the most money--$1.35 million per team. If that happens, other leagues might do the same with various bowls.