[HolyHandgernade]

Another perspective:

Iceman is a well respected Texas fan and mesage board poster....



"People have tried to float the "CCG required" for the Champions Bowl rumor before. As of when the contracts were signed, it's not true. The Big XII owns 50% of the Champions Bowl. They're not going to agree to a rule that forces them to expand unless they're 100% guaranteed to get exactly whom they're targeting. That doesn't mean the contract couldn't be amended, but that doesn't pass the smell test.

As for expansion, as I've said from the beginning (for 3+ months now), it is highly highly unlikely the Big XII expands before the deadline to withdraw. Further, I've also said that the Big XII is pretty adverse to breaking major news during the football season. So, it's always looked like next year before mid-summer would be the timeline (likely in the late winter/early spring).

I know all the blog writing charlatans want people to believe there's all kinds of negotiations and discussions taking place behind closed doors, but that's just not the case. The Big XII has ZILCH to pitch FSU, GA Tech, Clemson, or others until the financial aspect of the playoff is known (#1), how SOS and conference champs are going to be emphasized w/ the selection committee (#2), what the final Big XII tv package is going to look like (#3), and what the financial ramifications of the Champions Bowl will be (#4).

All of those (especially #s 1-3) must be hammered out and signed, sealed, and delivered before the Big XII has anything to talk to anybody about. It's just going to take some time to get all of those details settled.

The Big XII is interested in GA Tech, that is true. However, the administrators at GA Tech are not interested in the Big XII at this juncture. It would take a really fantastic sales pitch to land them. It could happen, but I'd call that a significantly longer shot than FSU.

But, the Big XII knows that if it wants FSU, it absolutely has to land one of Clemson, GA Tech, or Miami as well. There are some key boosters at GA Tech that are strongly interested, and they're the ones that reached out to the Big XII about 2 months ago for information. So, anything could happen."