Big East Expansion: An End to BCS Auto-Bids Would Make Big East Expansion Moot

While several college football teams are looking for a new home, there may be a change to how things work that could effect their future decisions.

Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas believes that there may be an elimination of the BCS automatic qualifying bid.

“I think there is growing sentiment to eliminate the automatic qualification part of the BCS,” Neinas told CBSSports.com this week. “You can see what’s happening. They [conferences] are gerrymandering all over the place under the intent to maintain an automatic qualification. History has shown you don’t need that if you are qualified.”

For the most part those statements are true because although there may be arguments for who should be in the National Championship, I think we can all agree that the top teams do end up in a BCS game regardless of which one it is.

There is also a benefit to getting rid of the automatic qualifying bid, as it would eliminate the weaker teams like say the Big East Champion. West Virginia or Cincinnati will win the conference this year. The Mountaineers aren't even ranked and the Bearcats are No.23 in the BCS.

How would this work?

Well, the automatic bids would be eliminated and they would use the Top 10 teams in the final BCS Rankings before the bowl season starts to determine who goes where.

A system like this would really benefit the power conferences like the SEC and Big 12 who have multiple teams in the Top 10 every year. It's not a playoff system but it's one step closer and arguably better than the system that is in place right now.

Which brings me to the Big East expansion as that conference is looking to add teams to replace the ones that are leaving. The majority of the teams that want to leave their current conference to join the Big East are mainly making the switch for a chance at a BCS automatic qualifying bid.

Would they need to switch conferences if this system is in place? Boise State wouldn't for sure.

For other teams it's debatable, as some of these conferences are so weak it's hard to crack the Top 25 let alone the Top 10 even with a great record.

According to the report, these changes won't happen until after the 2013 season when the current BCS deal expires. But it is something to think about.

A system like this could put the breaks on where every team ends up and help reshape the college football landscape even more.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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