In American college athletics, Division I-A football is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine its champion. Although football is the most popular NCAA sport and the one in which public interest in the "championship" is highest, there may in fact be no undisputed champion in any given year. Criticisms lodged against the NCAA football division include the fact that the final ranking of NCAA football teams is decided by subjective standards which are often regarded as being arbitrary, much like those in beauty pageants. Many believe that the “champion” of the largest and most popular collegiate sport should not be decided by fiat.
Over the years various polls and formulas have been used to determine a "mythical champion". For champions prior to 1936, retroactive polls and research have been employed to determine recognized champions of major college football. The methodology has evolved over the years, as have the polls being used.
The tradition, and the controversy, is carried on today with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), created for the 1998 season, and its predecessors—the Bowl Coalition from seasons 1992 to 1994, and the Bowl Alliance from seasons 1995 to 1997. The AP and coaches' polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule and performance against other top teams were combined into a formula, with the top two teams meeting in the BCS National Championship Game.
Most recently, in 2003 USC did not play in the BCS title game, despite finishing the regular season as #1 in both the AP and coaches polls. In the BCS formula Oklahoma was ranked #1 at the end of the regular season and LSU ended up #2. Under the BCS agreement Oklahoma played LSU in the championship game. LSU won the BCS title game, giving it the BCS title and #1 in the coaches' poll, while the sportswriters voted USC #1 in the AP poll. Consequently, for the 2004 season, the BCS formula was once again tweaked. For more detail, see the Bowl Championship Series article.
At times the BCS formula has worked. In 2005 there were only two undefeated teams, Southern Cal and Texas. Those two teams met in the Rose Bowl which was won by Texas.
The use of the bowl championship series poll has fostered debate amongst college football fans who are proponents of a playoff system. |
