College football spectators can anticipate watching a fifth top-level bowl game starting in 2006 after an agreement Sunday would add one more bowl game in addition to the existing four.
The announcement came from Miami by presidents of colleges representing teams that are part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and those from teams outside it.
Oregon president David Frohnmayer called the change "positive" and "significant."
"We have substantially increased the opportunities for Division I-A colleges to participate in BCS bowl games," he said.
The BCS is made up of six conferences - the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences.
MSU Sports Information and spokespersons for the Big Ten declined to comment Monday, pending further information.
In its third meeting since September, Frohnmayer said the group agreed "in principle to eliminate any adverse consequences of branding that may have unintentionally resulted from the present contractual arrangements."
The group consists of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, made up of the Presidential Coalition for Athletic Reform headed by Tulane President Scott Cowen, along with Frohnmayer and the presidents of Penn State, Nebraska and N.C. State.
In recent years, many teams have complained about the BCS rating system, claiming it was unfair for non-BCS schools. This past season, Southern Cal was ranked No. 1 in the nation according to the BCS rating, yet it didn't play in the championship game.
Until now, only the schools finishing in the Top 12 of the BCS ratings were considered for an opportunity to play in a bowl game. And a Top 6 finish in the ratings meant an automatic bowl berth.
But in the six years of the championship series' existence, however, no non-BCS team has ever finished in the Top 6.
Thus, the push to add another bowl game arose from this to try to give non-BCS teams a better shot at making it to a bowl game.
But many questions have gone unanswered in the change, leaving some officials unclear on the details.
"What else does it mean for the selections? What does it mean for payments? So much is unknown," Fiesta Bowl executive director John Junker said.
One of the implications of the change is known, though. The 54 schools in Division I-A will get more money out of the deal, while the 63 BCS schools will receive less. Teams playing in a BCS bowl game earn between $13 and $16 million for their conference.
Although Texas Christian athletics director Eric Hyman is optimistic about the change, he said he will remain cautious before finding out more.
"At least on the surface, it's good news, more inclusive than exclusive. This is a step in the right direction," Hyman said. "But I'm curious about a lot of things- it appears the devil is in the details."
The additional bowl game might be an existing game or an entirely new event. The Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange bowls currently are all BCS bowls, which rotates for the title game each year.
Among the current bowls vying for a bid are: Alamo, Capital One, Citrus, Cotton, Gator, Peach and Houston bowls.
Last season, MSU was ranked No. 10 in the BCS ratings before playing Michigan. Afterward, it dropped to No. 15 and later dropped out of the Top 25 after losing to Ohio State.
Staff writer Evan Rondeau contributed to this report.
