It has to be music to a college football fan's ears: "The status quo is off the table."

Bowl Championship Series officials

and it appears the current system will be gone by the 2014 season and at least a four-team playoff could be in place.

The future of the Rose Bowl, though, remains uncertain. Although Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany insists the conference's partnership with the Pac-12 won't stand in the way of something the "public appreciates and supports."

An option being discussed could force those traditional bowls to give up holding their games in years in which they host a semifinal or championship game. That could mean a year without a Rose Bowl, which has been played every year since 1916 -- most of those games matching the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-12.

"I just want to make sure that the changes that we make are evolutionary," Delany said. "That they support the regular season. That they're from a Rose Bowl perspective, that they sustain that tradition.

"You want to control change. You want to have evolution, not revolution because you don't know that the unintended consequences will be."

"Everybody is going to have to make some changes," BCS executive director Bill Hancock added. "Everybody recognizes the importance of the Rose Bowl."

In February, the Big Ten

, and a neutral site national championship game.

The Rose Bowl as Big Ten fans know it seems destined to change. But if that change is part of a college football playoff, it may be welcomed.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report



Email Josh Slagter at jslagter@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JoshSlagter