Columnist Ron Kantowski: BCS riches come a little bit closer

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

If you grew up in the middle class and asked your parents for something really neat at Christmas time, there were usually three responses: the unexpected "yes," the dreaded "no," and the vague "we'll see."

Based on the plan outlined by commissioner Craig Thompson at Thursday's Mountain West Conference football media day at Lake Las Vegas, when the MWC and its college football little brothers sought inclusion to the Bowl Championship Cartel -- er, Series -- they must have been told "we'll see."

Beginning in 2006, the road to the BCS for the Mountain West, Mid-American Conference, Conference USA, Western Athletic Conference and Sun Belt teams will be a little easier to hoe. They'll be using a spade instead of a toothpick.

Basically, instead of having to rank in the top six in the final BCS standings to achieve a BCS bowl at-large bid, the MWC and their on-the-outside-looking-in brethren will need only finish among the top 12. And there are provisos, not yet in writing, that could get a mid-major team into the BCS bank vault with a ranking of 16 or better, given a particular set of circumstances.

"Instead of a guaranteed slot at six, you're going to get a guaranteed slot at 12 starting with the fall of 2006," Thompson said during his state of the MWC address at the Ritz Carlton. "That's going to be tremendous, because as it has modeled out, in four of the past six years a former non-BCS member would have played in a BCS bowl."

Four of the past six years? Well, if my math is correct, that computes to two out of three using the lowest common denominator, and two out of three, at least according to Meat Loaf, ain't bad.

But it's not three out of three now, is it?

Using the Christmas present analogy, it was like the MWC and the outsiders asked for a shiny new bicycle and had to settle for G.I. Joe instead.

Thompson, of course, extolled the positives of the MWC strengthening its Kung Fu grip on the postseason.

"I think there's a tremendous opportunity for our coaches," he said. "With the eight Mountain West Conference games we'll play (upon TCU's arrival), plus the nonconference schedule, an 11-0 Mountain West team will, in all likelihood, receive a top 12 ranking in the BCS. From our perspective, that's what access is all about."

But again, progress comes with a caveat. Four out of six years ... in all likelihood ... These are conditions that the Nebraskas and Michigans -- and even the Northwesterns and Baylors -- never have to worry about.

That's why whereas Thompson considers the BCS glass half-full, guys such as Urban Meyer, the up-and-coming Utah coach, see it as half-empty. Or at least a quarter-empty.

"I think it's better for our conference," Meyer said of the revisions. "I think at least people are talking about it and it's moving in the right direction.

"But is it the answer? No. Not even close."

Meyer said it rankles him that he can't even call for a BCS measurement when the Northwesterns and Baylors receive an automatic first down, not to mention a hefty paycheck, thanks to their BCS membership card.

In a perfect world, Meyer said, each of the 11 I-A conferences and their members would have equal access to those $15 million BCS bowl game bonanzas.

"Equal access, and I think there's a certain elite level of football program (under the current system) and a bunch of other ones (that aren't). The fact that schools in the Mountain West don't have the same access as other programs that haven't had a winning season in 20 years, but they're still considered BCS, isn't fair to our student-athletes."

But, as Thompson prefaced his remarks, the BCS revisions are a work in progress, which might explain why so little has been written about them. One of the changes that is set in stone beginning in 2006 is that the term "non-BCS conferences" will cease to exist.

Under the new guidelines (which, like the rules in NASCAR, will probably change again by Tuesday), all 11 I-A conferences will be known as BCS members. Within that framework, there will be conferences with guaranteed berths in BCS games and conferences that will continue to walk around the Liberty Bowl with a monkey and a tin cup.

The biggest difference is that a team with guaranteed BCS access will lose it if it doesn't meet prescribed criteria. For now, that looks to be a four-year average of a top 12 ranking or better in the final BCS poll.

Are you listening, Big East?

"There could be as many as eight automatic berths (to what will be 10 BCS bowl game slots with the addition of a fifth game) or as few as four or five," Thompson said. "Now, it's up to our teams to achieve that level of automatic status on the football field."

Well, as my mom and dad used to say at Christmas time, we'll see.