Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany have both made clear that while they’re willing to take part in a discussion about the plus-one, they are not in favor of it — or any changes to the BCS that would interfere with their conference’s long and lucrative relationship with the Rose Bowl.

They’re also quick to point out that just because it’s called a plus-one, doesn’t mean it’s not really a playoff. And in major college football, playoff is a dirty word among the university presidents, who would have to sign off on any changes to the postseason.

“If it barks, and it has a tail and chases cats, it’s probably a dog,” Delany said. “If you seed teams and have the winners play the following week or two weeks away, it’s probably a mini-playoff.”

Mini for now, Hansen said.

“Every single playoff that’s ever been initiated in professional or college sports has quickly grown,” he said.

Also complicating matters is the Rose Bowl’s separate TV deal, an eight-year agreement with ABC that runs through 2014.

“I’m not going to be put in a situation where we have to break our contract,” Delany said.

Much to the chagrin of Delany and Hansen, the Big Ten and Pac-10 have been portrayed as obstructionists, standing in the way of BCS progress.

While Delany and Hansen have brought much of that criticism on themselves by taking such a firm public stance against the plus-one, it’s not accurate to say the Rose Bowl and its partners are the only thing standing in the way of a plus-one.

No other conference has ever come out in favor of a plus-one.

“No one even knows what my personal position is,” Tranghese said. “All I’ve ever said is I want to have a conversation about it.”

There’s also myriad logistical details that would have to be smoothed out to make a plus-one work, from travel to ticket distribution.

Also, a plus-one could cut into the BCS access that teams from non-automatic qualifying conferences gained three years ago.

Add this to the equation, too: There’s another version of the plus-one that’s been tossed around, one in which teams aren’t seeded. In that case, the BCS standings are still determining which teams play for the national title — they’re just doing it after the bowls have been played.

That scenario is certainly NOT a playoff, and could be more amenable to the Rose Bowl supporters, guaranteeing an annual Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup in Pasadena, Calif.

Aside from the Rose Bowl, officials from the other BCS games seem willing to accommodate whatever changes the BCS undergoes.

“It’s certainly not the most desirable situation,” Sugar Bowl chief executive officer Paul Hoolahan said of a plus-one that could relegate his game to a step on the way to a championship game instead of a final destination. “But I’ve never been one to fight the system.”

The commissioners will get no pressure to change from Fox.

“When we signed up three years ago, we were comfortable with the formula they presented to us,” Fox sports president Ed Goren said. “If there is a major goal, a No. 1 goal of Fox sports, it is to continue this relationship. Whatever they present to us, we’re ready to move forward.”

The BCS, however, doesn’t seem ready to make the big leap right now.

If a plus-one is in the BCS’s future, 2015 would seem to be a more likely arrival date than 2011, with next week’s meetings in Florida being a small but important step in that direction.

Oh well, college football fans. You’ve waited this long for a playoff, what’s another seven years?

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