A Cry For Fairness in NCAA Football
Today in NCAA Division 1-A football, the national champion is decided by the Bowl Championship Series (known as the BCS).
It consists of five bowl games and it’s participants are determined using a ranking system. This system currently factors in a poll of coaches, a poll conducted by an internet marketing firm and a compilation of six computer programs to determine where a team is ranked throughout the season. On January 8th the teams ranked number one and two at the end of the season play in the fifth and final bowl game, The National Championship. If the two best teams could be determined on paper, without competing on the field, this system would be satisfactory. Unfortunately, the better team cannot be determined through polls and computer programs, that’s not how sports work. According to a Sports Illustrated poll, 90 percent of fans don’t approve of the BCS. (Wetzel, par.4) Coaches, sports writers, fans, players and even the current President of The United States are incessantly calling for a playoff system to be implemented, after all, this is the only major sport in America without one; but the BCS is what we have for now and the organization seems to think that they’ve got it right.
Advocates for the BCS, including the organization itself, believe that this system creates one of the most exciting regular seasons in sports because it makes every game important. With a single loss, a teams hopes for a national title can vanish. This idea means that college football fans are more invested in their teams during the regular season, selling out games and creating massive television audiences. Once the end of the season rolls around the BCS bowl games create an exciting atmosphere too. More student athletes are given the opportunity to compete in these spectacular events which they will fondly remember forever. “The whole bowl experience is great. It’s just like bowl camp, a good time to bond with the guys after a long season. Then when you go to the bowl destination, it’s even better. I’m not sure with a playoff system you have that.” (MAC player in ESPN The Magazine, Aug. 10, 2010) Host cities of these games are reaping the benefits too, generating astronomical revenue. The total economic impact in the host cities from the five BCS games in January 2009, was estimated at more than $1.2 billion. (The BCS is … , par.14) With these reasons in mind you would think that the BCS is a good thing. According to bcsfootball.org, in it’s 12 year history the BCS has pitted the two best teams against each other for the national title by BCS standards each year. The problem is that the system the BCS uses to determine who is the best incorporates blatant favoritism toward certain conferences in NCAA Division 1-A and rewards them with big payouts, while essentially snubbing more than half of the schools in the country.
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The BCS has determined six of the eleven conferences to be deemed “BCS Conferences.” These are the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences. The championship teams in these conferences receive an automatic bid to one of the five bowl games regardless of their end of season rankings. Schools in conferences outside of the previously named conferences are known as non-BCS schools. One champion from one of the non-BCS conferences gets into a bowl game if it is ranked in the top 12 or ranked in the top 16 but higher than a BCS conference champion. (Bakalar, par. 6) Fair? I think not. The stipulations become even more murky when you discuss what happens to teams who are independent of any conference, such as Notre Dame. They go to a BCS Bowl game if they rank eighth or higher in the standings. Yet for some reason, Notre Dame receives $1.3 million in BCS money regardless of their participation in any bowl game. (Bakalar, par. 9) They don’t even have to play in one to get the money! This is the most alarming disparity between BCS and non-BCS conferences, the money it involves. The first team in each BCS conference to qualify receives $18 million regardless of the outcome of the game and that money is distributed in that team’s conference. If a second team from a BCS conference qualifies, the conference shares an additional $4.5 million. However, if a non-BCS school finagles it’s way into one of these bowl games, they distribute the $18 million dollar payday amongst all five of the non-BCS conferences. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is getting paid no matter what happens. This favoritism also plays an enormous role in the BCS ranking system, lending itself to biased views and a wacky computer system.
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At the beginning of each season the BCS releases the rankings for the top twenty five college football programs in the nation before any game is played on the field. This can be an daunting mountain to climb to the top if a team enters the season unranked. These rankings are based on speculative, biased views of the people who determine them. When you examine the factors that the computer programs use to determine these ranks it becomes even more sickening. One of which is strength of schedule. These schedules are set years in advance and with ranking in mind, the power house football schools are not inclined to play teams who belong to non-BCS conferences. Although a team is determined to play a schedule that is strong enough to get them into a bowl game there are still going to be matchups that put a power house versus weaker football programs. This is where the computer programs cause more problems by factoring in margin of victory. When these matchups occur the power houses are determined to absolutely smother and embarass the opposition. What happens to sportsmanship when running up the score is encouraged? The University of New Mexico has an inherently weak football team.
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So far this season they have lost every game by at least thirty five points, including a 72-0 loss to Oregon in week one. It cannot possibly be enjoyable to be a fan, coach, or player for that school. There are 119 Division 1-A football programs in the country, so obviously not every team can play each other throughout the season and a ranking system is necessary; however with the BCS system, so deeply rooted in favoritism and money, an undisputed national champion cannot be determined. The BCS has been in place for twelve years now and in each of the twelve years there have been heated controversies over which schools were selected to play in the big money bowl games. In five of those years there have been legitimate arguments over which school deserved to be crowned the national champion. (BCS Controversies By Year, par. 2-20) It is time for the system to be revamped and a playoff be put in place. President Barack Obama suggests, “Eight teams. That would be three rounds to determine a national champion. It would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular season. I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.” (Salazar-Moreno, par. 2) We agree with you President Obama and sports writer Dan Wetzel has gone to the drawing board with that idea but suggests a sixteen team playoff.
“Just like the wildly popular and profitable NCAA men’s basketball tournament, champions of all 11 conferences earn an automatic bid to the playoff.” (Wetzel, par. 20) He’s off and running with his profound playoff pitch, already creating a fair chance for every team in the country to go to the playoffs. No more BCS favoritism! Wetzel continues by explaining why he is giving bids to the champions of the weaker divisions. In his plan he matches up the weakest teams with the strongest teams in the early rounds, essentially creating a bye week for the most deserving teams. This would also create tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the home field school, thereby rewarding them for a season well played. (Wetzel, par. 23) But, there is still the off chance that one of these weaker teams plays the games of their lives and upsets the power house. If we have learned anything from college basketball and March Madness, we know that a cinderella team creates a frenzy in the sports world, bringing more attention to college football and even bigger television audiences. Wetzel has done his research and has come up with a plan that creates extensive revenue for a larger number of schools while eliminating the BCS favoritism.
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He has created a playoff plan that can work in college football giving every school in the country a fair shot at a title by on field competition. Players have said that they enjoy the pageantry of going to a BCS bowl game and will cherish the memories that those games have given them. As competitive athletes, you would think that it would be much more meaningful to play in games that by winning meant something more than fifth place. It would mean you were one step closer to acheiving the ultimate goal of National Champions. And if a team falls short of that goal, at least they had control over their own destiny by their performance, rather than a computer and a poll deciding their fate. Not to mention, they were given the opportunity to play in one or more playoff games, and the pageantry surrounding a long awaited playoff in college football would be nothing short of exhuberant. A playoff, as laid out by Wetzel, would also create revenue for a larger variety of host cities. As it stands now, BCS bowl games are held in the same four cities each and every year: Phoenix, AZ, New Orleans, LA, Pasadena, CA and Miami, FL. Why don’t we start spreading the wealth, spreading the opportunity, and spreading the love for college football.
Discontent with the BCS is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down. Money seems to be the biggest issue in resisting change. Those who’ve got it want to keep it and the BCS Conferences along with the BCS organization have got it. The ranking system has obvious flaws proven year after year by the controversies it creates. Ninety percent of college football fans are ready for a playoff system. The President of the United States is ready for a playoff system. The non-BCS conferences are ready for a playoff system. Coaches and sports writers are ready for a playoff system. There are proposals being formulated constantly and a change is on the horizon. Division II and III college football has already implemented a playoff just like every other sport in the country. Surely Division 1-A can figure out a way to make us happy while maintaining a healthy stream of revenue in the near future.
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