WHAT IS THE TIMETABLE? The changes will not be put in place until after the 2014 regular season. The B.C.S. structure is based on a series of four-year television contracts, and the one with ABC/ESPN expires after the 2013 season. So these changes, at their core, are about college football’s leaders positioning themselves to get more money out of a new television contract. Expect the contract to be longer than four years, with preliminary chatter pointing to a period of 8 or 10 years.

As for when the format changes will be determined, the goal is to have things completed before July; two meetings are planned for June. Many are pessimistic that the timetable will be met, however, pointing to the differing goals of the conference commissioners. Nothing has been easy through the history of the B.C.S., so why would anything change now?

WHO IS GOING TO LOSE OUT? The bowls. It is just a matter of how much. The B.C.S. bowl games have virtually no shot at hosting a national title game. If they are squeezed out of being involved in the semifinals, they will spiral into irrelevancy.

WHY WON’T THEY CALL IT A PLAYOFF? Four years ago, going into similar meetings, the idea on the table was a convoluted plus-one system that essentially never received a hearing. The consultants and television executives were careful not to call it a playoff, however, because that word could have scared the university presidents.

Given the countless scandals and the financially driven conference realignment that has occurred since then, one would think those in charge of the B.C.S. would not be so skittish as to avoid using the word playoff. Guess again. In a recent B.C.S. document obtained by USA Today, the four-team playoff was called the Four Team Event. Can’t make it up.

WHAT WILL THIS ALL BE WORTH? It depends on how it is packaged. For all the B.C.S. games, including the Rose Bowl’s separate contract, ABC/ESPN pays about $160 million. That number could easily double this time.

But a lot depends on how much inventory the television networks are paying for, as the number of so-called B.C.S. games is likely to expand.