ROSE BOWL LOOK AHEAD: A SENTIMENTAL SEPARATION BCS 2002 GAME TO START NEW ERA.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer PASADENA - As the sun set on the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. on Monday afternoon, 55 years of Rose Bowl tradition went down with it. Washington's 34-24 victory over Purdue in the 87th Rose Bowl game most likely marked the last in a string of games matching the Big Ten and Pacific-10 conference 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 champions, who've met here since 1947. Next year, the conferences will vacate To annul, set aside, or render void; to surrender possession or occupancy. The term vacate has two common usages in the law. With respect to real property, to vacate the premises means to give up possession of the property and leave the area totally devoid of contents. the game for the Bowl Championship Series title game, and one might think Tournament of Roses officials were feeling a little wistful about it all. Au contraire. ``I'm so excited about next year,'' said 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. , football chairman for the Tournament of Roses. Of course, he has to be. ``I was intimately involved with the creation of the BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. ,'' Cronk said of the system that comes as close as anything yet to producing a true national champion in college football. ``We're giving the public close to what they want, and we're protecting the bowl integrity. ``Am I concerned about tradition being changed? I guess the answer is no, because I helped create it. You have to weigh the pros and cons pros and cons Noun, pl the advantages and disadvantages of a situation [Latin pro for + con(tra) against] .'' The pros: --The nation's top-ranked teams will spend a week in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , bringing an expected economic windfall and the attention of the sporting nation here. The Jan. 3 date of the game means two more days for visitors to stay and spend in Pasadena, and tournament officials have already developed events to keep attention focused on the town. An interactive fan-fest in the stadium parking lot made its debut this year, and bowl officials are on their way to the Orange Bowl in Miami to observe Wednesday night's title-game operations. Bowl officials have previously visited New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded (Sugar Bowl) and Tempe, Ariz. (Fiesta) to cull cull the act of culling. Called also cast. ideas for championship-game-related activities. ``We have a parade nobody else has,'' Cronk said. ``We might talk to the city about shutting down Old Town (in Pasadena) for a street fair. Everybody has to think big, open the vistas. Incredible opportunities abound. It's going to be great.'' --The Rose Bowl should remain a viable force in the bowl hierarchy so long as the BCS is in existence. The Rose Bowl compromised to join the BCS, casting aside its traditional matchup for the chance to host a championship game once every four years. The BCS' contract with the six major football conferences and 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. runs out after 2006, when the Rose Bowl will again be the title-game site. Since bowl payouts remain strong (each team and its respective conference received $13.5 million for Monday's game), there's reason to believe all parties will want to extend the contract. Of course, if cries continue for a college football playoff, and a TV network steps up with enough money, all bets are off. Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said he anticipates BCS member conferences will begin negotiating an extension around 2004. And as long as university presidents, bowl officials and TV officials are holding the cards, a playoff isn't likely to happen. ``We believe TV rights will escalate,'' Hansen said. ``That's still three years away, but we will be very successful. The sum total of the four BCS games' TV ratings was equivalent to a Super Bowl, right around 52.'' The cons: --Tradition. That's what kept the game clinging to its Pac-10-vs.-Big Ten tie-in even when it prevented member schools from playing elsewhere for an undisputed national championship. Without that, many observers believe the Rose Bowl loses some of its luster, as the Pac-10 champion will be dispatched to the Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips (a Frito-Lay product), is a United States college football game played annually since 1971. Originally, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium where it remained until 2006. for the first time. Hansen disagrees. ``Because we're coming back the year after, no, I don't think we lose that,'' he said. ``We've got to look beyond 2002. We'll be back.'' Also, next year's game will kick off after 5 p.m., meaning that for the first time, the game will begin after sundown. To make it easier for arriving fans, a new pedestrian bridge connecting the west parking lot to the stadium will be constructed. Because almost twice as many media members will request credentials for the game, overflow press seating will spill into the stands, cutting capacity for the game by about 500. Other than that, it will be more or less business as usual. And who knows? If Big Ten and Pac-10 teams are good enough to finish ranked 1-2 in the BCS standings, the 2002 game will almost be business as usual. ``Our first goal will be to qualify a team for the Rose Bowl,'' Hansen said. ``If we can't, we will feel (sentimental), but we felt then and still feel that in the long-term interest of college football and the Rose Bowl, it was something we had to do.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo Marques Tuiasosopo (born March 22, 1979 in Woodinville, Washington) is a professional football player, a quarterback for the NFL's New York Jets. He began his career in 2001 with the Oakland Raiders. , right, speaks with Purdue quarterback Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (born January 15, 1979 in Austin, Texas) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. The San Diego Chargers originally selected him as the first pick of the 2001 NFL Draft's second round. on Monday after the 87th Rose Bowl. Michael Caulfield/Associated Press Box: ROSE BOWL HISTORY |
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