As a sign that times might be changing, the Big Ten Conference announced Monday they may change their stance on a playoff system to decide the National Championship. The Big Ten has been opposed to this idea in the past out of fears it would eliminate their relationship with the Rose Bowl.

Northwestern's Jim Phillips told the Chicago Tribune on Monday, ""We have to listen to the fans; we cannot be tone-deaf," said Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips, who chairs the Big Ten’s Administrators Council. "The Big Ten is open and curious."

In the proposed idea, the conference is in favor of a four-team playoff with the games being played on the campuses of the higher seeded schools. The championship game would then be played on a neutral site basically to the highest bidder.

Phillips also said that the Big Ten would look at the following criteria when deciding on any kind of playoff system.

*Is it fair to the student-athletes already suiting up for 12-13 games?

*Would it undermine college football’s vital regular season?

*Would the teams be chosen in a way that reflects competitive fairness?

*Can the Rose Bowl be protected?

Although nothing is really close, it is huge that the Big Ten is actually open to the idea. In the past they were one of the conferences strongly against any playoff system.