The Mountain West's plight to change the BCS is tabled at least for now.

The BCS' Presidential Oversight Committee, in a Wednesday teleconference, heard each conference's take on implementing the Mountain West's eight-team playoff plan and decided that there was "no overall support" for the idea.

"There was frank and respectful discussion among the Presidential Oversight Committee members," David Frohnmayer, University of Oregon President and BCS Presidential Oversight Committee Chairman, said in a statement. "These presidents and chancellors are dedicated to their universities, and also to the sport of college football. They want to do what's best for the game.

"There was no overall support for the proposal, although some conferences were interested in considering certain elements of it in the future -- particularly those related to revenue, access and governance of the BCS arrangement. As I have stated many times, the group will give full and due consideration to proposals submitted by the conferences. Each conference is encouraged to suggest ideas for improvement."

In March, the Mountain West outlined a plan that would create an eight-team playoff using the current BCS bowls -- FedEx Orange, Allstate Sugar, Tostitos Fiesta and Rose -- as well as a fifth unnamed bowl. Ultimately the teams would be whittled down until a national champion was determined.

Almost immediately, the Mountain West received strong opposition not only from the six automatic qualifying conferences and Notre Dame, which has a stake in the BCS, but also its non-automatic qualifying brethren.

But that hasn't stopped the Mountain West from taking its fight to Capitol Hill. In May, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson appeared before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Also last month, Utah senators Orrin Hatch (R) and Bob Bennett (R) sent a letter to Frohnmayer and BCS coordinator John Swofford, criticizing the "inadequacies" of the current system. Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff has said he plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against the BCS.

Frohnmayer did say some conferences are considering parts of the Mountain West's proposal, "particularly those related to revenue, access and the governance of the BCS arrangement."

But for now, the system will remain unchanged and Frohnmayer contends that's a good thing and it's the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

"I believe we all agree that no system will ever be considered perfect, particularly by those conferences and institutions whose teams are not chosen in any particular year," Frohnmayer said. "But the BCS is the best postseason arrangement that has ever existed in college football."

Below is the entire statement from Frohnmayer regarding the Mountain West's proposed changes to the BCS system.

Each of the ten conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletics director gave a report that summarized his individual conference's or school's consideration of the Mountain West proposal.

There was frank and respectful discussion among the Presidential Oversight Committee members. These presidents and chancellors are dedicated to their universities, and also to the sport of college football. They want to do what's best for the game.

There was no overall support for the proposal, although some conferences were interested in considering certain elements of it in the future-particularly those related to revenue, access and governance of the BCS arrangement. As I have stated many times, the group will give full and due consideration to proposals submitted by the conferences. Each conference is encouraged to suggest ideas for improvement.

It is important to note that these reports came from Notre Dame and all 10 conferences. The reports were generated after discussions among a wide base within the conferences, including presidents and chancellors, faculty representatives, athletics directors and coaches. The feeling is the same from all 10 conferences; an agreement was reached last year, without dissent, to proceed with our television negotiations for the next four years on the basis of the current BCS format. That agreement is now embodied in our contract with ESPN for the games to be played in January 2011-14. The messages were clear: each of the 10 conferences and Notre Dame intends to comply with that contract.

I believe we all agree that no system will ever be considered perfect, particularly by those conferences and institutions whose teams are not chosen in any particular year. But the BCS is the best post-season arrangement that has ever existed in college football. I say that after reviewing the matter from all standpoints, including student-athlete welfare, fan enjoyment, the academic calendar, the significance of the regular season, preservation of the bowl system that benefits a broad base of universities, and business.

In the last six years, I've read pundits, heard the pronouncements of broadcasters and collected several cubic feet of e-mail printouts from advocates of an NFL-style playoff system. Even those that go beyond sound bite certitude share two intertwined and fatal deficiencies: they disrespect our academic calendars and they utterly lack a business plan.

The BCS and the bowls generally reward student athletes of successful teams-and their supporters-with a holiday-season experience and memories they will cherish forever. The matching of the number one and number two teams that the BCS has provided has been remarkably successful through the years. Some Auburn Tiger fans, of course, still write to me; and our Oregon Ducks believed we, instead of Nebraska, should have faced the University of Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national championship. We got over it. While we all love our athletic teams, the enterprise of higher education is far more than what happens on the playing field. The BCS and the bowls serve our larger missions well.

At the conclusion of the bowl games of January, 2014, the BCS will have been in existence for 16 years. The founders got it right. College football has never been more popular. Let's keep it that way.