The Bowl Championship Series is probably the most controversial issue in college sports. On second thought, it may be the most controversial issue in all of sports. Year after year since it's inception in 1999 the system has been questioned by all sports fans. Why not a playoff system? Well, this season that same question will be asked again.
This has been the strangest of seasons in Division I
football. It began when Appalachian State defeated preseason #5 Michigan. Then, it continued to shake up throughout the season to the last week of the "regular season" when both the #1 and #2 teams in the country lost in the same weekend (#1 LSU and #2 Kansas [unranked preseason]). The #2 ranking seemed to be a curse as week after week the team holding that spot was knocked off. The top ranking changed an amazing 4 times, the most since 1997. LSU even lost the #1 ranking two different times this season. If the season ended today, the Allstate BCS National Championship Game would be #1 Missouri (preseason unranked) vs. #2 West Virginia (preseason #3). Nobody could have picked that one. Yet, that might even change as Missouri still needs to defeat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game next weekend.
So, what is keeping the BCS alive? Well, there are many arguments for that. First is the lucrative deal that FOX Sports just signed last season worth millions of dollars. The other reasons: Allstate, Tostitos, FedEx, AT&T. As in the Allstate National Championship Game, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi. Sponsors, sponsors, sponsors. And that's not all of them. There 25 corporate title sponsors of college bowl games (not including the 4 previously mentioned). No matter how we look at it, college football is big business and that looks unlikely to change anytime soon.
How to change it? Get the commissioners on board. Unfortunately for playoff fans, the commissioners of almost all of the college football conferences are the biggest supporters of the Bowl games. Is it coincidence that the commissioners of the major conferences rotate as BCS Commissioner, probably not. So it looks as if the BCS is here to stay. The contract runs through 2010 but an extension is expected in the near future. So congratulations Corporate America, you win...again. Who knows, maybe one day you will even get to name a bowl game after yourself.
2 comments:
I think that the BCS is a joke, and pretty much benefits the conferences that are tied in with the BCS. Honestly, did anyone else want to see Wake Forest in a BCS bowl last year just because they won the ACC? I think that a playoff system is definitely necessary in order to get the best teams in the major bowls, and not just teams from the conferences tied with the BCS. Also, how can you have undefeated teams (Auburn and Boise State) not even have the opportunity to play for the title? Either the BCS needs a major overhaul, or some type of playoff system needs to come into play to make College Football's big bowls better and more fair.
I'm sorry, but if a system needs to be tweaked after every season, and it still isn't right, then something is definately wrong. They keep making changes, but the system is never fixed. I would love a playoff, but unfortunately that may never happen. Something has to be done though, because having a number one team who isn't even favored in their next game is wrong.
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