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Discussion of playoff proposal a good start BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS lthough I don't know all the specifics of the proposed four-team playoff for col- lege football, I applaud the Big Ten and commissioner Jim Delany for advancing the discussion. Like some of the other athletic directors who have addressed the topic, I feel comfortable taking a se- rious look at our potential options and exploring some of the different scenarios being considered. My concern — first and foremost — is maintaining our relationship with the Rose Bowl. Protecting that game has been something that we talk about all the time. We'd hate to lose that. A Beyond that, I'm definitely intrigued by the proposal to seed four teams and play two semifinal games on campus sites. That's one way of leveling the playing field a little bit. I've felt that SEC teams have had an advantage because of the num- ber of bowls that have been played in their backyard. What would they think about leaving the South and playing in the Midwest? Overall, I'm open-minded to anything that would enhance our product. But it can't come at the expense of our regular season. The other day, Duke lost a rare home game to an unranked Miami basketball team. But that loss will probably have little or no bearing on Duke's seeding in the NCAA tournament. No one will remember that loss in March. That's because a single 10 » VARSITY FEBRUARY 9, 2012 game has less impact on a team's postseason hopes in college bas- ketball. That's simply not true of football. In general, I'm interested in see- ing where this is going and what the final proposals may look like. Under the format, the way I look at it, only two teams would be playing an additional game. I'm definitely intrigued by the proposal to seed four teams and play two semifinal games on campus sites. That's one way of leveling the playing field a little bit. That's workable to my thinking. But there are a lot questions that have to be answered. Plus, there are questions that haven't even come up yet but will likely surface once we research these options. The recruiting 'controversy' Recruiting is still the great equalizer. I know some comments have been attributed to me recently about football recruiting. I'm not sure where some of the quotes came from, either. Joe Schad from ESPN called me and asked about whether there was a gentleman's agreement in the Big Ten regarding recruits who had already verbally committed to another conference school. I told him, "No, there's no gentleman's agreement. You recruit until signing day when the player signs his National Letter of Intent. It has always been that way.'' My comments were selectively pulled out in such a way that it was pitting me against Bret and that was not the situation at all; it couldn't be further from the truth. It sounded to me like they were trying to attribute something to Bret that another Big Ten coach said about a "gentleman's agree- ment" and then wanted a comment from me. Bret never referenced any "gentleman's agreement." All I'm going to say is that re- cruiting is a lot better today than the old days when you had head coaches and assistants sitting in their cars outside of a recruit's house at 7 in the morning. I've seen kids running out the back door with all the coaches still waiting on him. One final thought: Eddie Faulkner was a great hire by Bret. First of all, I'm a little partial to bringing somebody back who played here; somebody who is very loyal to the program and under- stands what it was build on. That's the kind of guy who's go- ing to go out and really be a good salesperson. That's what we have in Eddie. He worked his way up the coach- ing ladder and he has earned the right to come back.