Commissioners leaning toward semifinals "floating" at bowl sites of higher seed

[jbcarol]

Commissioners in the process of molding the first major-college football playoff are leaning toward floating bowl sites for the semifinal games.

In fact, the predetermined rotation of semifinal sites in the bowls was described as a "non-starter"...

They do not want the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds having to "go on the road" in the semifinals. In other words, if the Sugar Bowl were anchored in advance to be a semifinal site, it would be possible that a No. 4 seed – say, LSU – would have the home-field advantage playing the No. 1-seeded opponent in the Superdome.

The discussion seems to center around the SEC and the Sugar Bowl. The conference has the most rabid fan following and its teams are in the closest proximity to New Orleans than the other conferences are to other major bowls. The Sugar Bowl has had a formal agreement to take the SEC champion since 1976. However, its relationship with the league goes back decades.

LSU's latest rise to prominence has occurred during the BCS era (since 1998). Some would argue because of the BCS. Three times during that 14-year period, LSU has played a "home" national championship game in the Superdome, only 70 miles from its campus.

Currently, five leagues have major-bowl tie-ins for their champions: Fiesta (Big 12), SEC (Sugar), Rose (Big Ten, Pac-12), ACC (Orange). That will change beginning in 2014. At this point only the Rose is sure to have its current tie-in.

The difference all along for the bowls in a playoff is that their games would not be an end-all to the season, but simply a "pass-through."