Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- College football's disputed method for deciding a national champion is facing a new set of critics - - two prominent college presidents.

University of Florida President Bernard Machen, whose football team is playing Ohio State University for this year's title on Jan. 8, and Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell, are pushing for a playoff tournament instead of a single game.

Their clout may give added traction to the annual calls for a playoff. The two schools have participated in a combined eight title games and won three championships since 1993.

``A playoff is inevitable,'' said Machen, 62, who hasn't yet drafted a detailed plan. ``The public strongly favors a playoff, but university presidents are in denial about that. They just don't see it. Whatever the format, I believe we need to get ahead of it and create the system rather than responding to the external pressures.''

Under the current Bowl Championship Series system, two teams are selected for the title game using criteria such as poll rankings resulting from votes by sportswriters, coaches and former players and administrators. Four other games match teams that finish near the top of the BCS rankings. The system, created by six of the most powerful football conferences and accepted by the others, has sponsored a title game since 1998.

Most other college sports champions are determined in a playoff, men's basketball most famously in the so-called March Madness tournament, which fields 65 teams and lasts three weeks.

Florida's 73-57 victory over UCLA in April's championship game was watched by 12.3 million U.S. television households.

TV Money

More than prestige is at stake with a football playoff. The schools are turning their backs on as much as a 60 percent increase in television and sponsorship money by not adopting a playoff system, said Kevin O'Malley, a college sports consultant in Tampa, Florida.

New York-based News Corp. pays about $85 million a year for the right to televise four of the five BCS games, including the title game. And Walt Disney Co.'s ABC pays about $30 million a year to show the Rose Bowl, which is the fifth BCS game, O'Malley said.

``Fans are already familiar with the playoff format, and interest would build more each week as teams fell to the side,'' O'Malley said. ``The title sponsorship for the championship game, it would go through the roof.''

A football playoff would generate excitement akin to the NFL's Super Bowl or the college basketball championship, said Jack Myers, chief executive of the Myers Reports Inc., a New York-based media research company.

Super Bowl

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in last February's Super Bowl was watched by 41.6 percent of U.S. households with televisions, and 30-second ads sold for $2.5 million. Last January, the University of Texas's 41-38 win over the University of Southern California for the BCS championship was seen by 21.7 percent of U.S. television households, and 30-second ads sold for $800,000.

``A college football playoff and championship? That's a franchise you would want to own,'' Myers said. ``If they developed it, over three to five years, I could see advertising revenue increasing 30 percent.''

The challenge Machen and Wetherell face comes from college presidents concerned about lengthening the football season, lost class time and an impression that they are sacrificing education for money.

``I don't think we need another game now that we have a 12- game season,'' said Ohio State University President Karen Holbrook. She said she agreed with Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, who said in September that college presidents want to emphasize regular-season games and don't want a ``tournament sport.''

Back to 11 Games

Wetherell, 60, said he's still developing a plan to discuss with NCAA leaders next year. He said he may propose returning the football schedule to 11 regular-season games and rescheduling the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls to make room for the early rounds of a playoff. Each bowl would rotate hosting the national championship.

Wetherell said schools will eventually be forced to create a playoff to satisfy the public's demand for a clear champion. Critics of the BCS system say lesser-known programs like Boise State University, with a 12-0 record this year, stand little chance of competing for a title.

``At some point, people are going to get sick of it and demand a change,'' Wetherell said. ``Boise State is undefeated and they have no shot at the title.''

Machen said Southeastern Conference presidents meet in March and that he will have playoffs on the agenda.

He, too, said the bowls will need to be rescheduled to accommodate a playoff. He said he'd talk to other presidents before backing a specific plan.

Neal Pilson, a consultant to the Rose Bowl, presented a plan in 1994 for an eight-team playoff when he was president of CBS Sports.

``We argued that it would create greater viewership and public interest in college football, but they were afraid of over-commercialization,'' Pilson said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Curtis Eichelberger in Washington at ceichelberge@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 19, 2006 00:11 EST