Phoenix — The BCS calls it "double-hosting." The Fiesta Bowl, whose organization will be the first to implement it, simply calls it "a challenge."

College football fans, who are just now hearing about it, are going to call it a lot of things, the kindest of which may be "confusing."

The BCS has faced a number of challenges since its inception in 1998 but one of the biggest will take place in the next few months. That's when officials must sell the public on the new model, which increases the number of BCS games from four to five, and puts two of those games — including the BCS national championship game — at one site.

"We know we've got some work to do in order to make the public understand and embrace the new model," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, the BCS coordinator. "I think once people get a handle on what we're doing it will start to make sense."

The new BCS format is a move mandated by the university presidents in order to expand opportunities to the smaller, non-BCS conferences.

The four original BCS bowls — Orange, Sugar, Rose, Fiesta — will remain the same. Added to that group will be a stand-alone BCS national championship game. Rather than add a fifth bowl city to the rotation, each year one of the bowls will host two games — its regular bowl and then the BCS championship game.

The Fiesta Bowl gets the first shot at executing college football's grand new experiment. On Jan. 1 it will host the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in the brand new $455 million Cardinal Stadium in nearby Glendale. On Jan. 8 the same organization will host the BCS championship game.

Can one city and one organization host two games of this magnitude in seven days and do it well? That is what everybody in the bowl business is waiting to find out.

"After this year's Fiesta Bowl (Ohio State vs. Notre Dame) I started thinking about what it would be like to greet two new teams and get ready to do it all over again," said Shawn Schoeffler, the media relations director of the Fiesta Bowl. "It was kind of scary to think about."

A lot of people are scared about this format. That's why this season all the BCS bowls will be watching the Fiesta and taking a lot of notes. The Allstate Sugar Bowl, which will host two games after the 2007 season, will bring its entire staff to Glendale after their game on Jan. 3.

This is a tough time for the Sugar Bowl to be making a lot of changes. It had to move its entire operation to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina and had to play the Jan. 2, 2006 game at the George Dome. This season's game will be back in the New Orleans Superdome, which is projected to be functional again in September. But there is a lot of work to do in order for the city to host two games in the span of a week.

"Actually what we went through last year is going to help us," said Paul Hoolahan, the executive director of the Sugar Bowl. "When we went to Atlanta we learned how to get a lot done in a relatively short amount of time. We have come so far from where we were. We'll be able to do this."

The logistical problems in something like this are enormous. For example, the Fiesta committee will ask the teams in the BCS championship game to come here on Jan. 2, the day the Fiesta Bowl teams leave town. But what if those teams want to come in early? Hotel rooms have to be reserved just in case.

"Sure it's a challenge but if you love college football this is something you want to be involved in," said John Junker, the executive director of the Fiesta Bowl. "Our people are really excited about it."

WHAT IF?

If the new BCS formula were in place last season, here is what the bowl lineup would have been.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. Oregon

Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame vs. TCU

Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Ohio State

Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. West Virginia

BCS championship: Texas vs. USC