NCAA Division 1-A football is different from all other college sports in that is does not end its season with a playoff system designed to determine a champion. Instead, Division 1-A college football has a Bowl Championship Series (BCS). In this system, teams play a regular 12-game season against opponents in their division as well as a few games outside their conference. At the end of the season, teams are selected to play in various bowl games. Four of these bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and the Orange Bowl are considered the most prestigious, because one of these four bowl games is chosen annually to be the championship game. The teams who are chosen to go to these bowl games are not chosen fairly though because a computer-generated process is used, instead of sending the teams with the most wins. The current BCS system, which determines college football’s national champion by opinion and computer is unfair and needs to be replaced with an eight-team playoff bracket system.
The Bowl Championship Series was established in 1998 to help determine the national champion for college football while maintaining the bowl system that had been put into place nearly 100 years ago to generate more revenue for college football (Limon, par. 3). Six of the nation’s major conferences - the Big Ten, Pac-10, ACC, Big East, Big 12, and SEC committed to have their champions determined under this system (Alder, par. 6). Teams are selected to play in the BCS bowl games based on a combination of polls from NCAA officials and selected coaches as well as computer generated rankings of the following “statistical factors: wins and losses, strength of schedule, opponent’s strength of schedule, and other minor statistics, like defensive scoring performances” (Carey, par. 6). NCAA football is the only sport to use this system, so why the difference?
The hope of the BCS system was to create a playoff atmosphere throughout the season while still incorporating traditional college bowl games, but it isn’t a fair system. A true champion can only be determined by wins on the field and not by personal opinions of officials and coaches through a poll. Supporters of the BCS say that the current system works and are not looking for change, but this system often produces a disputed winner, so it’s not working. At the end of each season there is invariably at least one team that claims they earned, but were excluded from a shot at the National Title.
An example of this controversial championship happened in the 2006 football season. The Boise State Broncos ended their season undefeated with a 13-0 record, but they did not get a chance to play for a National Title. Brian Carey, in his article “BCS Ranking vs. Playoff System: What is Best for College Football” says “Since Boise State plays in a weaker conference (Western Athletic Conference) than most other BCS teams, its strength of schedule was not enough to earn it a place in the National Championship” (par. 10). Even with a perfect record, Boise State was not crowned National Champions. Instead, that year the Florida Gators took home the crown after their victory over Ohio State. Although the Gator’s record that season of 13-1 was impressive, they were not the best team in Division 1 football. These conferences were established years ago based on regional location and schools were placed in conferences with schools similar to themselves in size. Since the establishment of these conferences, teams have fallen and risen to different levels of competing, but no alterations of conferences have been made.
Incorporating a bracket playoff system would level the playing field for all of college football by deciding the better team in head-to-head competition and allowing all teams in college football a chance at a championship. Rather than being measured by polls, which ultimately are better for teams with more media exposure, a playoff system would prove that “if you’re not good enough to win your conference, you’re not good enough to win the national championship” (Suellentrop, par.5). This means that the computer and opinion polls would not select which teams went to the bowl games, but rather the teams with the best records would go and play against each other, no matter which conference they were from. The BCS has become a like a high school popularity contest, allowing those who are well-known or well-liked in the eyes of the media to be given more of a chance at the championship than others. A playoff system would redirect this emphasis.
In the same way, it would allow teams that are from smaller divisions who do win in their conference to have a shot at the national championship. For example, in 2000 the TCU Horned Frogs went undefeated behind the running of Heisman Trophy candidate LaDainian Tomlinson, but they were not even considered for a bowl game, let alone the National Championship Game. Those who run the current system had already made up their minds which well-known teams they would elect into the BCS before the season was even over that year (Suellentrop, par. 2).
Those in opposition of a playoff system also claim that the season would last too long. They are concerned that students would miss final exams of fall semester and the beginning of classes for spring semester, but the current BCS system already has games that continue into spring semester. The proposal for an eight-team playoff would only require one extra week of play for two teams and two extra weeks of play for the top two teams in the country. Although, this is extra time, the college basketball tournament means an extra week for 64 teams, two extra weeks for 16 teams, and three extra weeks for four teams and the media doesn’t advertise complaints about that. Additionally, one more bowl game which would be required for the playoff system would generate millions of dollars for college football.
The BCS must be changed from its current operation because teams who have worked diligently for the chance to play on this kind of stage deserve it by playing tough games and winning them. A playoff system would limit the controversy over the winner of the National Championship title that is currently created by the BCS system. By winning the National Championship through a playoff system, teams could proudly say with certainty that they were proven the best college football team in the country.
Works Cited
Alder, James. “BCS vs. Playoff System.” About.com 2009. 25 Feb. 2009. http://football.about.com/od/bowlchampsionship/i/bcsvsplayoffs.htm.
Carey, Brian. “BCS Ranking vs. Playoff System: What is Best for College Football?” January 9, 2007. 25 Feb. 2009. http://www1.epinions.com/content_4933918852.
Limon, Iliana. “Despite criticism changes to BCS system not likely in foreseeable future.” McClatchy-Tribune News Service 19 Jan 2009: ProQuest. 25 Feb. 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1629305071&sid=1&Fmt=3&vlirnylf=8125&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
Suellentrop, Chris. “A College Football Playoff That Works.” Slate.com 2008. http://ww.slate.com/id/91886/
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