BCS conference officials have identified candidate cities to host the first championship game in college football’s new postseason system, and the four current BCS bowl cities will be among the choices.
The current BCS games — the Fiesta, Rose, Orange and Sugar bowls — are about to enter an exclusive negotiating period.
BCS executive director Bill Hancock said Monday in a statement that the commissioners will begin talking to the organizers from those games immediately about the possibility of hosting the first national championship game to be played under the newly developed four-team playoff system on Jan. 15, 2015.
The four current BCS bowls – the Fiesta in Glendale, Ariz., Orange in Miami, Sugar in New Orleans and Rose in Pasadena, Calif. – along with the Cotton (Arlington, Texas) and Chick-fil-A (Atlanta) bowls will be the only sites that will have the opportunity to host the 2015 title game.
The BCS commissioners originally planned to open the bidding to any city interested in submitting a proposal for the title game. But considering the challenges involved with hosting the game, and because it is only 28 months away, the commissioners thought they needed to move quickly on naming the site.
A decision is expected to be announced early next year.
For all future national championship games, requests will be submitted allowing any city to bid for the contest – the same way that cities now bid for the NFL’s Super Bowl.
Besides the six cities already named, other cities expected to be interested include Indianapolis, Detroit, St. Louis, Orlando, Fla., Houston, San Diego, Jacksonville, Fla., and Tampa, Fla.
EXTRA POINTS
A former McPherson College football player is facing charges in connection to the beating death of a football player at nearby Tabor College in Kansas, authorities said Monday. Alton Franklin, 19, of Dallas, was charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder following Saturday’s death of 26-year-old Brandon Brown of Sacramento. Police said Brown never regained consciousness following a fight earlier this month. … The Sun Belt Conference has suspended Western Kentucky safety Jonathan Dowling for one game following his ejection after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Southern Miss receiver Tyre Bracken in the Hilltoppers’ 42-17 victory last Saturday.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.