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HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Get used of six more nuclear winters, er, falls of the BCS.
At least.
The commissioners of the six major conferences (plus Notre Dame AD Kevin White) agreed Wednesday to keep the BCS in its current form through the 2013 season (and January 2014 bowls). Despite outcries from the public and the media, there wasn't enough support to change the structure from those who run the sport.
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The issue never came to a formal vote but it became evident -- probably even before the BCS meetings that ended Wednesday -- that the push for the first playoff at the Division I-A level was going to be shot down.
"I know that's what a lot of fans don't want to hear, but they're not responsible for crafting what we have in college football," said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese.
"Another wise person said, 'If isn't broken don't fix it,'" said White.
That seemed to summarize the feelings of all the commissioners. The sport is enjoying unprecedented success on the field, in the stands and on television. Why risk an unknown for an admittedly flawed, but financially successful, known?
After years of planning, SEC commissioner Mike Slive formally presented a plus-one model to his peers Wednesday. He found opposition from the Big East, Big 12, Pac-10, Big Ten and Notre Dame. The ACC was the lone conference in Slive's plus-one camp.
Under Slive's plan, the top four ranked teams at end of the regular season would meet -- No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3. The winners would meet approximately a week later for the national championship.
In addition, another BCS bowl would have had to be added. That takes hopefuls Chick-fil-A (Atlanta) and Cotton (Dallas), among others, out of the running for now.
Instead, the 10-year-old BCS will continue in its current state -- with the double-hosting model. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams at the end of the regular season will go on meeting in the BCS title game. The bowl that hosts the title game also will continue its traditional game a week before the championship game.
Slive appeared to become emotional as he met with the media after the announcement that his idea didn't pass. The 67-year-old commissioner began working on plus-one shortly after Auburn was denied a shot at the BCS title game despite going undefeated in 2004.
He can't be accused of being a homer. In his six years as commissioner, SEC teams have won three national championships in the BCS system.
