Colorado Springs – Some college football coaches have reluctantly agreed to reveal their season-ending vote for the USA Today/ESPN poll, but Big 12 commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator Kevin Weiberg welcomes the measure with open arms.
“I think it’s good news,” Weiberg said on the final day of the league meetings. “I think that’s how the majority of commissioners will view it.”
For the first time, balloting in the final regular-season poll will be made public.
Potential fallout among coaches remains. On a conference call last month, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel threatened not to vote if his ballot was made public.
“I take it very seriously when I put my name on that,” Pinkel said. “I will not vote if the names are published, because I just think it should be private. I think it could be used in an adverse way.”
The coaches were under pressure to reveal their votes and bring more transparency to the process of determining the matchup for the BCS title game. They have agreed not to reveal their votes for the in-season polls. A total of 62 coaches vote in the USA Today/ESPN poll.
Still on the table is what type of polling system will replace the Associated Press poll, after the wire service pulled its poll from BCS use in December. The AP and coaches polls each had counted as one-third of a team’s BCS points. Computer rankings counted for the final third.
Weiberg said there are several models being discussed. He said he would like to see a new poll in place by July 15.
“You don’t just go out and create a new poll at the snap of a finger,” Weiberg said. “We’re doing our due diligence, and we’re working on it. But the question that remains to be answered is whether we’ll be in a position where we have an alternative poll that we feel comfortable with inserting into the system.”
Cashing in
The Atlantic Coast Conference fought long and hard to get itself a 12-member league and a football championship game, and the Big 12 continues to provide a reason. Money.
Weiberg announced Thursday that league revenues are expected to be about $105.6 million for the 2004-05 academic year, which will be distributed evenly among its member institutions. It means that in nine seasons the Big 12 has nearly doubled its revenues from the $55 million it distributed in 1996-97.
Audit every three years
Weiberg said the Big 12 has earmarked money to improve oversight of its member athletic departments and athletes.
First, the conference will hire an independent firm to conduct audits of Big 12 athletic departments in blocks of four each year. Each athletic department will be scrutinized once every three years.
Second are improvements in the league’s performance-enhancing drug testing. No athletes to date have been cited for performance-enhancing drug use, and Weiberg said he would like to keep it that way. Improvement in gambling prevention is the third priority.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
