Bowl Alliance Tries to Bring Pac-10, Big Ten Into the Fold

Although there appears little chance the Pacific 10 and Big Ten conferences will join college football’s bowl alliance any time soon, officials from both conferences and ABC will meet this weekend in Phoenix to discuss a way to ensure that the nation’s top two teams can meet annually in a national championship game.

Last season, only Michigan’s upset of Ohio State let the alliance match No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

Had Ohio State, No. 2 at the time, defeated Michigan, the Buckeyes would have been bound to play USC in the Rose Bowl.

The proposal with the best chance for success would allow an escape clause, should either the Big Ten or Pac-10 champion be ranked first or second at the end of the regular season.

If the Pac-10 or Big Ten champion ended up No. 1, the Rose Bowl would be the site of the national title game. If either champion ended up ranked second, it would be allowed to play the No. 1 team in the alliance.

“I’m not overly optimistic anything we come up with will carry the day,” Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said.

The biggest obstacle in any agreement remains the television networks tied to the alliance and Rose Bowl.

“Anything we decide upon probably has a long and rocky road with the alliance bowls, conferences and two television networks [ABC and CBS],” Hansen said.