Badger Bits: Praying for January football in Camp Randall

BCS Meetings are going on in Florida among conference commissioners, media types, bowl reps and a whole mess of lawyers to determine some type of four-team "event" that includes two semifinals and championship game (but isn't a playoff, shut up). Barry Alvarez was apparently there too, though he didn't comment. He wouldn't have anything to say that Jim Delaney hasn't been saying for forever at this point. The Big Ten, and by extension Wisconsin, chiefly wants two things: to preserve the sanctity of the Rose Bowl and have semifinals played on campuses.

The latter makes sense in just about every conceivable fashion. It is being opposed by other conferences and bowl shills because it would mean actually traveling north of the Mason-Dixon occasionally, as well as a lot less money in the pockets of men wearing yellow jackets. Dan Wetzel showed that the Sugar Bowl brought in $34.1 million in revenue and turned an $11.6 million profit on its most recent federal tax filings, all while charging its participants over half a million each in tickets for the players, band, and various member's of the universities' entourage.

BCS executive director Bill Hancock has somehow kept a straight face while coming up with a host of silly reasons why college campuses can't work as host sites. The wackiest is probably this ...

BCS executive director Bill Hancock has said there are questions about whether some college campuses had the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the crush of fans and media attending a college football semifinal.

"The infrastructure needed on campus is significant," Hancock told the Associated Press. "That's a factor. That's just one example of the intricacies that are part of this."

... as if games will be played at the bottom of an imminent mudslide and not inside disaster-proof monoliths that have hosted tens of thousands of fans on a weekly basis for decades.

Jason Kirk also points out that games would, on average, be better attended, if the last 14 years are any indication. That's assuming that the neutral bowl/NFL site of choice would actually sell out which, if NCAA Tournament regionals are any indication, isn't guaranteed. Good luck getting fans to travel to two different corners of the country within a week to see their team play.

As for the Granddaddy, it doesn't appear much progress has been made since Delaney introduced the wack-a-doo plan to produce two teams for the national championship out of three semifinals. I would like to see the Rose Bowl keep a traditional Big Ten-Pac 12 pairing, even between two conference runner-ups, at the cost of potentially hosting two teams nobody cares about, but that's just me.

Really, I just want to see football played in Camp Randall in January. The more I think about it, the less whole I feel knowing that such a thing has never occurred.

Thursday's Links:

Here's Spencer Hall to put the punctuation this thing . It is really good for real, so read it.

Bret Bielema played auctioneer at a recent fundraiser for Alzheimer's. It is an absolute shame no video was produced.

The Wisconsin State Journal and the Journal Sentinel roll out dueling profiles on A.J. Fenton, who has freshly shorn hair and is currently holding down the starting SAM linebacker spot at least until Ethan Armstrong can come back from hip surgery to compete.

The Badger Herald talked to Zach Azzanni and the Daily Cardinal interviewed Mike Markuson in a pair of position previews.

Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown says he would be honored to be fired for speaking out against homosexuality as part of his faith, and as you might imagine this has provoked a lot of sincere reactions from a lot of folks. EDSBS, of course, comes through triumphantly with the lighter side.

Wrapping up: PURDUE CHANGED ITS LOGO. Woah, sorry, key stuck. What I meant to say was, Purdue changed its logo.