The announcement to drop the plus-one talk for the near future was no surprise. Coming into these meetings it seemed to be at best a long shot to gain enough support for it to remain an option for the next BCS TV contract cycle, which begins with the 2011 bowls.
The Big Ten and Pac-10 have been dead set against the plus-one. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen have said repeatedly that they're concerned the four-team playoff the plus-one creates would inevitably grow. Also, they believe their league's access to the Rose Bowl, already compromised by simply being involved with the BCS, could be further hindered by a plus-one.
In the 10 seasons since the BCS was put in place, the Rose Bowl has had its traditional Pac-10 vs. Big Ten matchup six times.
Slive, Swofford, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese and Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe had all said they were in favor of taking a serious look at the plus-one, but no league had gone so far as to publicly support the change.
In the end, only the SEC and ACC wanted to even continue the discussion.