The corpse of the Bowl Championship Series, college football's much-maligned way of wrapping up each season in often incomprehensible fashion, has gone cold. The organization that will replace it now has a clever name -- the College Football Playoff -- that leaves plenty of room for a big-dollar corporate sponsor and, as of yesterday, a venue.
College Football Playoff officials announced Wednesday night that Cowboys Stadium will host the first national championship game under the new system, slated for January 12, 2015.
The game, despite being a couple dozen miles from its namesake stadium, will still be known as the Cotton Bowl, which, in addition to hosting the first national title game, will be part of a six-bowl semifinal rotation that includes the Rose, Orange, Sugar, Chick-fil-A and Fiesta bowls.
Arlington apparently edged out Tampa for the championship, which officials said they looked at very carefully. But seriously? No way they'd pass up 100,000-plus seats and a Jumbotron the size of a small republic. Bill Hancock, executive director of the Dallas-headquartered College Football Playoff, said as much.
"The stadium itself [was the main reason], everything about the stadium," he said. "It's still the stadium with a capital 'T.'"
That, of course, is exactly the impression Jerry Jones hoped to make when he built his $1.2 billion coliseum in Arlington. He's already bagged the 2014 Final Four, and now he's got the college football equivalent.
Say what you will about his flaws as an NFL GM, but the man knows business.