Yahoo - Zone read: Mike Slive doesn’t want conference champions in a potential playof

[Jenni Carlson]

Editor's note: Just a reminder, going to be a little slow on the blog the next few days because of a family emergency. But don't worry, it won't be barren for long. The Zone Read is your morning college football primer to make you seem like the smartest person at the water cooler even if you're not. Mike Slive might be in favor of a playoff, but he doesn't want it to be among the conference champions. Slive, the SEC commissioner, didn't offer a suggestion for how he'd like to see playoffs play out, but did say that he's open to evaluating all options. "I'm willing to have a conversation about (only conference champions), but if you were going to ask me today, that would not be the way I want to go," Slive said . "It really is early in the discussions, notwithstanding what some commissioners say publicly. There's still a lot of information that needs to be generated." The four-team playoff seems to be the idea that commissioners and many athletic directors and coaches seem to favor, though no official decision on the fate of the BCS is expected any time soon. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott was the first to talk about conference champions in an interview with the New York Times. The SEC talked about playoffs during their meetings last month, but didn't reach a consensus and will talk about it again during spring meetings in Destin, Fla. [Related: Missouri faces line issues as it gears up for SEC play ] While Slive isn't ready to commit to anything, he did say that he would way the pros and cons of using campus sites for semifinals, an idea that was proposed by the Big Ten. "There are plusses and minuses to that concept," Slive said. "One is that you're playing a couple games to determine the national champion and to make it a home game for somebody has always been perceived as a competitive advantage. The NCAA men's basketball tournament is not played at the homes of the higher seeds. So you have to look at that. "The other side is there would be the question of fan travel and the ability to travel to one or more games. You guarantee good attendance (at a campus stadium) -- for one team. It needs to be looked at carefully. It's on the table and it should be on the table." Slive said before anything is decided, he wants to hear input from the players. He also said that college football also has to consider the bowl system, including the bowls that make up the BCS and shell out the most cash.

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