In a Rose Bowl type deal, the Big 12 and SEC have come to a five year agreement to have their conference champions play in a bowl game starting in 2014.
If the league champions are involved in the four team national championship playoff then “another deserving team” from the conference would be selected. With the Rose Bowl locked into a Pac-12/Big Ten matchup, this would leave the Big East and ACC out in the cold. The agreement also makes those four conferences the power players in college football.
“Our goal is to provide the fans across the country with a New Year’s Day prime-time tradition,” acting Big 12 Conference Chuck Neinas said. “This is a landmark agreement between two of the most successful football conferences during the BCS era to stage a post-season event. The creation of this game featuring the champions of the Big 12 and SEC will have tremendous resonance in college football.”
“A new January bowl tradition is born,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “This new game will provide a great match-up between the two most successful conferences in the BCS era and will complement the exciting post-season atmosphere created by the new four-team model. Most importantly, it will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans with an outstanding bowl experience.”
I don't buy into a the hub-bub about providing anyone with a fantastic bowl experience. It's all about the money and if the top two teams aren't involved in the SEC/Big 12 bowl, then everyone else in the conference that is bowl eligible get pushed up the bowl ladder. Which means more money for their respective conferences.
