According to a modification in the Bowl Championship Series rules, it could happen before the current contract expires in 2014.Welcome to the Rose Bowl of the future, a place where the Utahs, Brigham Youngs and Hawaiis of the college football world are welcome. Sort of.
According to a modification in the Bowl Championship Series rules, the Tournament of Roses could be forced to take a non-BCS team in the next few years.
The arrangement was hammered out several years ago, though it wasn't widely discussed until Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany brought it up Monday at the first of his conference's two media days.
Mitch Dorger, Rose Bowl chief officer, said later, "We didn't want to distract from the current arrangement or get people confused."
Confusion seems to be woven into the BCS fabric, but the deal works something like this:
In the past, if one of the Rose Bowl's traditional opponents, the Pacific 10 Conference and Big Ten champions, was selected for the national championship game, officials could take the conference's second-place team.
More:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-rose-bowl28-2009jul28,0,7041039.story