AT LAST, ONE CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED : BIG TEN, PAC-10 AGREE TO JOIN BOWL ALLIANCE.Byline: Eric Sondheimer Daily News Deputy Sports Editor Noun 1. sports editor - the newspaper editor responsible for sports news newspaper editor - the editor of a newspaper Finally, a true national championship game in college football has been created. The combination of big bucks from ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Sports and the decision of the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conferences The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members to end a 51-year-old guarantee of its teams meeting in the Rose Bowl led to the announcement Tuesday that agreement had been reached to match the nation's two top-ranked teams each year starting at the end of the 1998 season. ABC has agreed to a four-year deal with the College Football Bowl Alliance, Big Ten and Pac-10 that brings together the six major conferences. Four bowls will rotate hosting the national championship game, with the Rose Bowl scheduled to hold the game in 2002. The Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls will get the first chance to join the four-bowl rotation during a 60-day negotiating window. Prior to Tuesday's agreement, there could not be a guaranteed true national championship game in college football because the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions were committed to playing in the Rose Bowl, even if one of the teams was ranked No. 1 or No. 2. ``If nothing else, what we have created is a celebration of college football that might match in its intensity and interest the Final Four in basketball,'' said Gene Corrigan, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the NCAA's Division I. . Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Pac-10 assistant commissioner Jim Muldoon said the Rose Bowl will receive a significant increase in TV rights fees. This year, $8.1 million was paid out to each of the two teams participating in the Rose Bowl. One commissioner said that figure will increase to more than $12 million by 2001. Four months of intense negotiations led to the Pac-10 and Big Ten joining the alliance, which includes the Southeastern, Big 12, Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference, plus independent Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame . ``Everybody had to get comfortable with change,'' Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. ``Change is not easy.'' Delany said the Pac-10 and Big Ten had four policy objectives in its negotiations. First, they wanted to ``maintain and retain as much as possible'' the Rose Bowl tradition while also guaranteeing that the game grows in value. Second, they wanted to create a ``healthier'' bowl environment. Third, they wanted to ``prevent and preclude'' an NFL-style playoff format  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. for a national title.
Fourth, the Pac-10 and Big Ten wanted to ``give our teams an opportunity to play for the national championship within the bowl system.'' Two years ago, Big Ten champion Penn State was unbeaten and ranked No. 2 when it played Oregon in the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions won the game, but they finished second in the country to Nebraska, which beat Miami in the Orange Bowl. The Pac-10 and Big Ten champions are still guaranteed of meeting in the Rose Bowl when they are not ranked No. 1 or 2, except when they host the national championship game in 2002. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Delany, if a Pac-10 or Big Ten team were ranked No. 1 in the year 2001 or earlier, the Rose Bowl could invoke a one-time provision to host the national championship game prior to 2002. When a Pac-10 or Big Ten champion doesn't compete in the Rose Bowl, the game will have its first choice of other alliance teams, meaning schools such as Notre Dame or Alabama could come West. USC football USC football refers to either of two NCAA Division I-A college football programs:
``It sounds good to me,'' he said. ``I hope we get to play in it. This should be something that will be good for college football and for the fans of our game. I'm a big fan of the Rose Bowl, but I'm also a big fan of finding a way to crown a true national champion.'' Added Oregon coach Mike Bellotti Robert Michael Bellotti (b. December 21, 1950 in Sacramento, California) has been the head coach of the University of Oregon football team since 1995. His accomplishments at Oregon include an 11-1 season and #2 national ranking in 2001. Education M.S. : ``There is a positive side to it in that we now get a chance to compete for the national championship. The drawback is that the Rose Bowl has always had a special relationship on the West Coast. Teams in the Pac-10 have always had the goal of winning the conference championship and earning the chance to play in the Rose Bowl. Now that opportunity may be in jeopardy.'' Harriman Cronk Verb 1. cronk - utter a hoarse sound, like a raven croak let loose, let out, utter, emit - express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words); "She let out a big heavy sigh"; "He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand" 2. , chairman of the Tournament of Roses football committee, said negotiations were a ``long, tedious job.'' ``When somebody tells you the negotiations were rough, they were,'' he said. ``I think it's healthy, and I think the tournament will be better for it. We wouldn't have done it if we didn't gain something. From a monetary standpoint, it will be a significant increase for both conferences. ``I don't think it's necessarily a detriment to have other (teams) exposed to the Rose Bowl and parade. This is the greatest annual event in the world on New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. .'' How to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation has not been worked out, but the alliance currently uses the writers' poll of the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. and coaches' poll of CNN-USA Today. ABC officials were gushing gush v. gushed, gush·ing, gush·es v.intr. 1. To flow forth suddenly in great volume: water gushing from a hydrant. 2. about the agreement to televise tel·e·vise tr. & intr.v. tel·e·vised, tel·e·vis·ing, tel·e·vis·es To broadcast or be broadcast by television. [Back-formation from television. the national championship game for four years, plus three option years. ``The ratings should be great,'' ABC spokesman Mark Mandel said. ``This is a major deal. People have been trying for years to put this together.'' Rival CBS Sports CBS Sports is a division of CBS which airs many of the sports telecasts in the United States. CBS Sports broadcasts programs like NFL on CBS, The NFL Today, Southeastern Conference football, NCAA basketball, PGA golf, and professional tennis. recognized the impact of the deal. ``We congratulate the Bowl Alliance and the conference commissioners on taking a previously impossible step toward the creation of a truly national championship,'' said CBS Sports president David Kenin. ``We were aware when we helped to create the Alliance that the possible entry of the Rose Bowl would change the landscape.'' This season, the national title game is scheduled for the Sugar Bowl without the Big Ten and Pac-10 participating. Then in 1998, the Orange Bowl is set to host the title game. THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT What happened A national championship game in college football matching No. 1 vs. No. 2 will take place at the end of the 1998 season through 2005, rotating among four bowls, with the Rose Bowl hosting the game in 2002.The games will be televised by ABC. The champion will be decided among six major conference champions and two at-large selections. The conferences are the Pacific-10, Big Ten, Southeastern, Big 12, ACC See adaptive cruise control. and Big East. Notre Dame is likely to be an at-large team. Still to be determined The first site of the national championship game and the other three bowl-game participants, but leading contenders are the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. How teams will be selected to other bowl games. Impact on Rose Bowl The Pac-10 and Big Ten champions are guaranteed Rose Bowl berths every year except 2002. If a Pac-10 or Big Ten team is ranked No. 1 or No. 2 and plays in a national championship game, the Rose Bowl will have first choice to pick another alliance team. Well received Comments from coaches and other officials on Tuesday's announcement that a national championship game will conclude the season beginning in 1998: ``This meets the objective that so many of the coaches felt was important - to have a game that decided the national championship and not destroy the bowl structure. It accomplishes everything we could want at this time.'' - Texas coach John Makovic. ``Eventually I would like to see some type of computer poll to determine the top two teams. I think that would limit some of the regionalism re·gion·al·ism n. 1. a. Political division of an area into partially autonomous regions. b. Advocacy of such a political system. 2. Loyalty to the interests of a particular region. 3. , campaigning and politicking that goes on.'' - Nebraska coach Tom Osborne. ``It's always been my contention that teams should have the opportunity to win championships on the field. I'm pleased that the leadership of the Big Ten, Pac-10 and the various conferences in the bowl alliance were able to work together to bring about a system that will answer most of the arguments in the fairest manner - on the field.'' - Penn State coach Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed JoePa, is the head coach of Pennsylvania State University's college football team, a position he has held since 1966. . ``Until there is a true playoff system involving at least 16 teams, this is the best scenario we can hope for to determine a national champion.'' - Florida coach Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier . ``The agreement allows for schools to have an opportunity to be in a national championship game while preserving the integrity of the current bowl system, which is very healthy for college football.'' - Michigan State coach Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban (born October 31, 1951 in Fairmont, West Virginia) is an American college football coach and the current head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Saban took the Alabama position after coaching the Miami Dolphins for two years and previously coaching Alabama's SEC . ``I think everyone involved in the bowl system is happy to see a 1-2 game evolve. I don't see a downside. The alliance is in a good situation, ABC is in a good situation, and the bowls are in a good situation. The emphasis was always to see a true national championship game.'' - Paul Hoolahan, executive director of the Sugar Bowl. CAPTION(S): 3 Boxes Box: (1) THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT (see text) (2)Impact on Rose Bowl(see text) (3) Well received (see text) |
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