BCS Basics
The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) has been in place since 1998. It tries to match the top 2 teams in college football at the end of the year to play for a national championship. The problem is in deciding who are the 2 best teams.
Almost every year there is a major controversy, and certain teams get “voted” better than others. This is contrary to the nature of sport. The best should rise to the top naturally through heads up competition. You can read more about how teams are selected here.
The six conferences that hold all the power in college football (and one team by itself) are:
- ACC
- Big X
- Big XII
- Big East
- Pac 10
- SEC
- Notre Dame
Each of these conferences and Notre Dame get a vote in the BCS annual meetings. The other five conferences get one vote, combined. Notre Dame has the same voting power as 50+ other schools. How does that make sense?
The six conferences mentioned above automatically send their league champion to a BCS bowl game. The other five conferences combined may get to send a team, if they qualify. Qualification is largely determined by voters, who may or may not watch very many games each season. How does that make sense?
Voters also choose who the top two teams are at the end of the regular season. The chosen two get to play in the BCS Championship game, which many call the college football national championship. So, if your team wins the popularity contest and gets the most or second-most votes, you’ll be able to watch them play in a game that determines the most popular. Lucky you.
If your team isn’t voted as #1 or #2 most popular, you get to watch them play for pride in some other exhibition (bowl) game. Lucky you.