JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On Wednesday, BCS conference commissioners came to an agreement that could move college football into a four team playoff by 2014. The deal would also set up a national championship game that could be played in a number of cities including Jacksonville.
Long before this news came down, officials in Jacksonville have been planning on throwing their name in the hat to host a potential title game.
"Once we know the parameters, we'll start laying the ground work," said Alan Verlander recently on Action Sports 360. "If you know Rick Catlett as well as I do, the ground work is already being laid."
Verlander is the new Executive Director for Sports and Entertainment in Jacksonville and Rick Catlett is the president of the Gator Bowl.
While the city is trying to put together a possible bid, they don't know an official scenario just yet.
Wednesday's agreed upon plan included playing semifinal games at current bowl sites, but it would call for a neutral site to host the national championship game according to the Associated Press.
For Jacksonville, it would be like hosting the Super Bowl again. The NFL's biggest game was played here in 2005 and the city of Jacksonville has decades of experience hosting big college football games. The Florida-Georgia game is an annual event as is the Gator Bowl every New Year's Day.
"It's the national championship," Verlander said on June 10th. "It's one of the biggest games in the nation and we want Jacksonville to be a part of that."
Money talks at the end of the day. If this plan goes forward, the city of Jacksonville would have to put together a bid that trumps cities like Dallas and Houston.
"It's all about getting to the right people," said Verlander. "And putting up the best bid and the right amount of money. We've heard that about college football a few times. It's about the revenue."
