For more on UI women's basketball, click here to read Tony Bleill's blog.

Can you tell me who No. 1 is going to be? I promise to keep it secret.

I can't do that. I would have to throw you in a river if I did. It's an exciting day, for the fans and for those of us who work on it.

At 1-4, any chance Illinois makes the cut?

The fight song at my high school in Hobart, Okla., was "Illinois Loyalty" – we're loyal to you, Illinois – so I've always been a fan of the Illini because of that song. The great thing about the BCS is that everyone has a chance. But I can't speculate on Illinois.

Who calls you first Monday morning, Boise State or TCU?

Who calls me this early doesn't bother me because there are still seven more standings released after this one. The one I agonize over the most comes out Dec. 6, the last one. When I was director of the Final Four, my heart broke every Selection Sunday. I was more sad for the teams that didn't make it than I was happy for the teams that did make it. It's fun now when the (BCS) standings come out because no one should put any credence into anything this early.

Do you ever field a call from someone who is actually happy?

The happy people don't call. The happy people get in line and buy tickets, and we know there are thousands of happy people. The unhappy ones don't raise an issue too much with the components of the standings. They're unhappy because their team didn't make it. That's what we have in sports: Somebody loses every game. You always feel bad for No. 3, but there are two levels to this: Did we get in the championship game and did we get into a BCS game? While it's devastating for No. 3 not getting into the championship game, at least they get in a BCS game.

Why wait until basketball starts to release the first BCS rankings?

The 11 conference commissioners don't like preseason polls. They really wish there were no preseason polls at all, but they understand people are going to do them. By midseason, the effect of the preseason polls has pretty much washed out.

In another year, ESPN takes over the BCS. Is that a good thing?

Yes. Fox has been a terrific partner. But Fox doesn't have the announcers that ESPN has. Their announcers are good, but they don't have a Kirk Herbstreit, they don't have a Ron Franklin. You could bring in Mel Allen to do the games, but if fans don't know him they're going to say 'Who is this?' Plus ESPN can promote it all season.

President Obama has talked of a playoff. Has he called you to complain?

He hasn't called me. I'm a supporter of his, so I wish he would. His comments represent the passion surrounding college football. I would explain to him that the BCS is the best thing that's happened to postseason football. It has created a 1 vs. a 2, and that's a guarantee we never had before. It allows more access for the non-AQ (automatic qualifier) – they've had a team in the BCS four of the last five years. And the revenue for that group is so much better. Utah got $9 million for playing in the Sugar Bowl. If the president called, I think in the middle of our conversation he would say, 'Bill, that's all I need to hear. I need to go talk to someone about health care.'

Do you see the BCS still in place after Obama's second term?

I suspect it will be. At the end of this current cycle (five more years), the BCS will be 16 years old. A lot of people never thought it'd grow old enough to have a driver's license. If you polled college presidents today, if they were to change the system they'd rather go back to the old bowl system than have a playoff.

What do you miss most about running the Final Four?

Everyone loves the NCAA tournament. When I walked into a room and said I was director of the Final Four, they'd say 'Wow, that's so cool.' When I walk into a room now they say 'Wow, college football is so great, but the BCS, I don't get it.' But as soon as we sit down over a cup of coffee and I get a chance to explain it, 99 out of 100 times they say, 'I get it. You're right.' Ninety-nine out of 100 times.

You live in the Kansas City area. Can you arrange a basketball game between Illinois and Kansas?

Kansas fans feel the same way about Roy Williams as Illinois fans feel about Bill Self. It's a love-hate thing. How about if we try to arrange a round-robin tournament with North Carolina, Kansas and Illinois?