NCAA Vetoes Proposal for ‘Disney Classic’ Final : College football: Game would have matched nation’s top two teams in championship game at Anaheim Stadium.

Despite heavy lobbying by the Walt Disney Co. and a host of high-powered backers, the NCAA has vetoed a proposal aimed at making Orange County the permanent site of a Division I-A championship football game, it was disclosed Wednesday.

The NCAA has quelled further discussion for now of a Division I-A final in Orange County or anywhere else, said Jack Lindquist, the retired Disneyland president who heads efforts to create the bowl game.

The game would have pitted the two top-ranked teams in a nationally televised showdown every January at Anaheim Stadium. Now, the soonest that such a game could be staged would be 1998, he said.

In the interim, Lindquist said his group will create a Disney Classic centered around another sport, possibly soccer or basketball, so that the group will be well-positioned against competing venues in case the NCAA reconsiders the issue.

Disney organized a sophisticated push for the “Disney Classic,” rounding up support from leaders in the arts and business.

A video produced in conjunction with ABC Sports, which wanted to televise the game, featured Disney Chairman Michael Eisner making a pitch to college presidents. In addition, The Times’ marketing department produced a special, full-color newspaper circular that was sent to the colleges outlining plans for the event.

To make the event more palatable to the majority of universities that are not major football powers, Disney proposed a week or more of events showcasing artists, musicians and scholars from all of the schools. Each of the 104 Division I-A schools would also be guaranteed at least $75,000 in proceeds.

Still, it was the game that attracted the NCAA’s attention. An NCAA committee chaired by UCLA Chancellor Charles Young considered the issue last month in Kansas City, but never resolved the issue that has been a matter of controversy for decades. “It may take a little time, or a lot,” Young said.

Lindquist said the college arts and scholastic events would still be held. But the scaled-backed athletic event would not generate as much money, so the budget would have to be pared.