This is, frankly, a terrible idea. I think it's a bone being tossed from the big 5 conferences to the smaller conferences to remove a potential lawsuit about anti-trust behavior.
So what path, exactly, do you see leading from "well, they're either #12 or #13...should they go to the godaddy.com bowl to face Louisiana Tech or should they go to the Fiesta bowl to play 7-6 temple" to "yeah, they should be one of the 4 teams that play for the [national football coach's association] national championship trophy"? Regardless what format you're talking about, post 2014 you're going to have to be in the top4 to play for it all (top2 currently). Doesn't matter whether there is a "big money" bowl for you or not, if you're not in the top4 you're not playing for it all. Think it'd be frustrating to be a 13-0 OHIO (or generic MAC team, or CUSA team, or Boise, or TCU) and not be considered for the national title game? How about being an undefeated member of an AQ league this year (say Louisville or Cincinnati, or Minnesota or Northwestern) and having less a chance of playing for the national title than a one loss Boise State?
This game offers automatic big-money access (potentially, depending on how its negotiated) to a team that is going to not be in the National title hunt under any system under discussion for implementation in the near future, as opposed to...no revenue sharing with the non-PAC12/Big10/Big12/SEC/ACC conferences (note, the BigLeast isn't on that list) under the "null hypothesis" as it stands now.
This is soap box material.
The truth is, I think the Presidents of all the non-AQ BCS conferences, and, as we move forward, the Big East, should enter into a lawsuit against the NCAA for anti-trust violations.
Either we're BCS, or we're not. Either we're Division 1, with all the rights and privleges thereof, or we're not.
As a member school of the NCAA, we are not being treated equally. We have all the same expenses, same regulatory requirements, same membership status as Ohio State... and yet, some schools remain "more equal than others".
I do not see this being resolved without a lawsuit. This lawsuit may result in the creation of further divisions of football; It might result in a reclassification of Ohio to Division 1.5 or some other nomenclature. It might result in the breakup of the NCAA entirely. I doubt it, though. March Madness brings in entirely too much revenue for the bigger schools to take their ball and go home.
But I think history shows clear damage, and that the NCAA did not act in good faith on behalf of all it's member institutions.
If we accept this new bowl game, it weakens our case that we don't have "Equal Access". And honestly, the fix is simple. Instead of a 4 team play off, expand the field to the conference champion of each FBS conference, and the next 4 slots would go to the highest rated (use whatever method you want) team that did not win its conference. This would be a field of 16.
Play the tournament the last 2 weeks in December and finish the tournament up in early January. You'll be down to the last 4 teams for January, and the TV revenue will be GIGANTIC.
The often heard argument against this is the travel expense... Do hotels and travel costs go away for the basketball tournaments? Somehow those all get attended just fine.
The never spoken aloud argument against this is: it would leave a LOT of "big time" schools out of the tournament, and they want their money. Plain and simple, they want their money, and they don't want to share it with you.
But I think the member institution presidents are not fulfilling their fiduciary duties by accepting the current system. It's got to end.
And, honestly, I think we're seeing it implode right now, before our very eyes. Greed is behind all of the conference re-alignment, and it's going to come to a head.
As much as the Big Ten thinks they don't need the MAC, and that the MAC isn't in any way comparable, they sure lean on the MAC an awful lot when it comes to scheduling. It's harder to keep the Alumni/Booster base happy with a winning season, year in and year out, if you actually have to play schools that are your equal for all 12 games.
Ask Arkansas if they feel like they'll have a "successful" season. They were ranked 10th in the preseason AP poll...
-john