UGA proposes playoff

Michael Adams has never liked the idea of a football playoff. Stretching the season into a second semester always troubled the academic sensibilities of the University of Georgia president.

However, the lack of sensibility in the current BCS system has pushed the university leader and the chairman of the NCAA executive committee to change his mind. And for fans desperate for a legitimate postseason tournament, Adams' proposal Tuesday is a major step in the right direction.

Concerned by the concentration of power and influence at ESPN and with the conference and bowl commissioners, Adams submitted a proposal for an eight-team college football playoff to be organized and operated by the NCAA. He submitted a formal letter to Myles Brand, the president of the NCAA.

That Georgia's Bulldogs - who ultimately finished No. 2 in the AP poll - were overlooked in the lobbying campaign to determine the BCS title game participants left a bitter taste in the president's mouth. He alluded to the hint of collusion that "leaves an air of dissatisfaction with the fans of most institutions."

"This year's experience with the BCS forces me to the conclusion that the current system has lost public confidence and simply does not work," Adams said in a statement issued the day after LSU beat Ohio State in the BCS Championship game. "It is undercutting the sportsmanship and integrity of the game."

Adams suggests establishing an NCAA selection committee to determine and seed the eight participants in a playoff. Those eight teams would play in the four established BCS bowls - Sugar, Orange, Fiesta and Rose - during the usual New Year's bowl period. The winners of those four games would advance to semifinals played the first Saturday at least a week after the bowl games. The national championship game would be played the following Saturday.

While still concerned about stretching the season for four teams into the second semester, Adams suggests restoring the 11-game regular season to alleviate wear and tear on the student athletes.

"I will propose to Myles Brand and the NCAA board that this playoff process be put into place as soon as contractual arrangements allow and that it be run by the NCAA," Adams said. "I am confident the NCAA has and will have a better record of managing events of this type than the BCS has exhibited to date."

Whether Adams gains the support of his presidential peers and can get a playoff established in the near future is unknown. It remains a long-shot just as playoff rhetoric in recent years had always been shot down.

But after another unsatisfactory conclusion to one of the great years in collegiate football memory, just initiating the debate among the people who matter is a welcome step.