Big 12 coaches to discuss changing tiebreaker rules

Big 12 football coaches will consider this week recommending a change to the conference's tiebreaker rule that led to a controversial end to the 2008 season.

The conference's athletic directors asked the coaches for a recommendation to be considered later this month at the Big 12 spring meetings. The coaches will meet to discuss the issue Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix.

It's not clear if there is a consensus for change after Oklahoma won a three-way tiebreaker in the Big 12 South. The ADs will consider any recommendation May 19-21 during the spring meetings in Colorado Springs, Colo. The athletic directors are not bound by any recommendation that comes out of Phoenix.

In the current Big 12 three-way tiebreaker, the highest ranked team in the final BCS standings wins. Last season controversy erupted when Texas beat Oklahoma on the field but ultimately lost the tiebreaker after losing to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders went on to lose to Oklahoma. All three teams finished with a 7-1 conference record.

Oklahoma won the division tiebreaker by .0128 of a point in the BCS standings. It then won the conference championship game over Missouri before losing the BCS title game to Florida.

Texas coach Mack Brown has advocated a tiebreaker that is based more on on-field results. There has been some talk of adopting the SEC model which eliminates the lowest-ranked team in the BCS if the top two teams in a three-way tie are ranked within five spots of each other. In that case, the head-to-head result breaks the tie.

The Big Ten will consider changes to its tiebreaker during conference meetings May 19-21 in Chicago. Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez told school officials in February that the league was adopting a tiebreaker similar to the Big 12. Big Ten officials later said no changes have been made as yet.