BCS poised to undergo big changes

Three weeks from now.

That's when it could be clear where college football, including the Mountain West Conference, is heading.

Bowl Championship Series officials meet April 24 to 26 in Hollywood, Fla. The Football Bowl Association also will meet in South Florida.

Indications are a four-team playoff could emerge, probably in the 2014 season. It might not be a full-blown playoff, but a plus-one model would be a step in the right direction.

FBA chairwoman Tina Kunzer-Murphy, also the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas executive director, said what will come out of the BCS meetings is unknown, and the issue could drag on until June. "I hope our bowl business stays strong," she said, sounding concerned.

The BCS, though, could see major changes. Some football powers want to do away with automatic BCS status so that schools such as Boise State and San Diego State aren't joining the Big "East" Conference.

That leads to the Mountain West's future. Commissioner Craig Thompson and UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood will represent the conference at the BCS meetings.

Then the Mountain West will have meetings a week later in Phoenix that could shape the complexion of the conference.

The Mountain West has been moving away from the idea of a merger with Conference USA to more of an alliance. Each would remain separate to retain individual NCAA automatic-bid status for their various sports but maintain some sort of working relationship.

And if it's more of a partnership than unified conference, the Mountain West probably will need to expand.

Thompson has visited San Jose State and Utah State. Not exactly Boise State, Brigham Young and Texas Christian.

But you know who's not complaining? UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck. The Rebels should field a more competitive team almost by default.

■ WELL, RAZORBACKS ARE PIGS -- The following was posted on Facebook by a Connecticut lawyer/minister:

"When you don't beat LSU, you get angry. When you get angry, you buy a Harley. When you buy a Harley, you meet a 25-year-old female athlete who is not your wife. When you meet a 25-year-old female athlete, you invite her to ride your Harley. When the 25-year-old female athlete rides your Harley, you both end up in a roadside ditch. Don't end up in a roadside ditch. Beat LSU."

OK, so Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino's affair began long before November's loss to Louisiana State. And Jessica Dorrell wasn't the only mistress for Petrino, a married father of four. He exchanged at least 200 text messages, according to Deadspin.com, with a woman who claims to be the 2008 Miss Bikini USA.

Betraying his family is beyond shameful, but at least there are no reports of affairs with Perkins waitresses.

■ GATOR GIGGING -- Brian Gay didn't merely miss the green at the RBC Heritage on Thursday. His ball landed near an alligator.

That's when his caddie, Kip Henley, stepped in and used a bunker rake to nudge the gator back into the water.

Gay bogeyed the No. 15 hole in the PGA Tour event in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

He's fortunate a shot was all he lost on that hole.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL