Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a flawed selection system designed to create five bowl matchups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), including an opportunity for the top two to compete in a "national championship game". This championship is intended as a surrogate for a playoff system since the NCAA does not formally determine a champion in this category.

The BCS relies on a combination of polls and computer selection methods to determine relative team rankings, and to narrow the field to two teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game held after the other college bowl games. The winner of this game is crowned the BCS national champion and is guaranteed at least a share of the national championship.

The system also selects matchups for the other prestigious BCS bowl games. The ten teams selected include the conference champion from each of the six BCS conferences plus four others. The BCS was created by formal agreement among six conferences, and has evolved to allow other conferences to participate to a lesser degree. It is not formally recognized by the NCAA as a collegiate championship.

It has been in place since the 1998 season, but a number of controversial selections have spurred changes in the system that continue into the present. Prior to the 2006 season eight teams competed in four BCS Bowls. The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance, in place from 1995–1997, which followed the Bowl Coalition, in place from 1992–1994.

History leading to creation of the BCS

Every other NCAA sports determine their national champion through a post-season playoff tournament. However, these tournaments did not start until the 1930s and 1940, when travel was too time-consuming and expensive to support a post-season playoff. The current bowl system began in 1902 with the East-West game in Pasadena, California. Held on New Year's Day in conjunction with the Tournament of Roses, this was an exhibition game between a highly rated team from the west coast and a team east of the Mississippi River.

In this first game, representing the East, the University of Michigan Wolverines, #1 and undefeated, having not been so much as scored upon all season, defeated the West's Stanford University Indians (later renamed Cardinal) by a score of 49 - 0. The lopsided score led to Stanford calling for an end to the game during the third quarter, and also led to the post-season football game not being played again until 1916.

This was an ideal time for a post-season game, as fans could take off work or school during this holiday period to travel to the game. The game was renamed the Rose Bowl in the late 1920s due to the shape of the new stadium built in Pasadena. By the 1930s, the Cotton Bowl Classic, Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl were also held on January 1 to showcase teams from other regions of the country.

By the 1940s, college football conferences began signing contracts that tied their championship team to a particular bowl. In 1947, the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference, a forerunner of today's Pacific-10 Conference, agreed to commit their champions to play in the Rose Bowl every year, an agreement that continued under the BCS. This system raised the possibility that the two top-ranked teams in the final poll would not play each other in a bowl game. Indeed, the two top-ranked teams in the final regular-season AP Poll had only played each other in a bowl six times since the AP began releasing its final poll after the bowl games in 1968. Under the circumstances, it was also possible to have a split national championship.

For example, in 1991, the University of Miami Hurricanes and the University of Washington Huskies were the most dominant teams in the nation. Since the Huskies were locked into the Rose Bowl as the Pacific 10 Conference champion against Big Ten champion Michigan, they could not play Miami, who played in the Orange Bowl. Both teams dominated their bowl games and shared the national championship, Miami winning the Associated Press poll and Washington earning the top spot in the Coaches Poll. A split national championship has happened on many occasions. (See: NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship for a compilation of past "national champions" since 1869.)

Other teams have won the national championship despite playing what has been perceived as a weaker schedule. For instance, when the BYU Cougars ended the 1984 season as the only undefeated and untied team in the nation, a number of commentators thought the Cougars hadn't played a sufficiently difficult schedule and therefore should not be recognized as national champion. The Cougars, who played in the Western Athletic Conference at the time, were generally recognized as a major football power in a mid-major conference. They had also regularly beaten teams from the power conferences. The Cougars opened the season with a 20-14 victory over #3 Pittsburgh, and Michigan had been ranked as high as #2 that season. Coupled with the 1983 season of 11 consecutive wins, BYU won the 1984 Championship with a 24 game winning streak. However, critics pointed out that no one in the WAC was even close to being the Cougars' equal, and BYU played in the Holiday Bowl against a 6-5 Michigan team. Nonetheless, BYU was a near-unanimous choice as national champion in most final polls.

To address these problems, five conferences, six bowl games and leading independent Notre Dame joined forces to create the Bowl Coalition, which was intended to force a de facto "national championship game" between the top two teams. By entirely excluding all the other conferences, the Bowl Coalition also made it impossible for a non-Bowl Coalition team to win a national championship. This system was in place from the 1992 season through the 1994 season. While traditional tie-ins between conferences and bowls remained, a team would be released to play in another bowl if it was necessary to force a championship game. However, this system did not include the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions, as both were obligated to play in the Rose Bowl. The Coalition made several unsuccessful attempts to get the Tournament of Roses Association, which operates the Rose Bowl, to release the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions if necessary to force a championship game. In 1994, undefeated Penn State, from the Big Ten, played Oregon in the Rose Bowl while undefeated Nebraska played Miami in the Orange Bowl. In a system that paired top-ranked teams, Penn State would have played Nebraska for the national championship.

The Bowl Coalition was restructured into the Bowl Alliance for the 1995 season, involving five conferences (reduced to four for the 1996 season) and three bowls (Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange). The championship game rotated among these three bowls. It still did not, however, include the Pac-10 or Big Ten champions, the Rose Bowl, or any non-Bowl Alliance teams.

After a protracted round of negotiations, the Bowl Alliance was reformed into the Bowl Championship Series for the 1998 season; former Southeastern Conference commissioner Roy Kramer is considered to be the "father" of the BCS. The Tournament of Roses Association agreed to release the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions if it was necessary to force a national championship game. In return, the Rose Bowl was added to the yearly national championship rotation, and the game was able to keep its coveted exclusive TV time slot on the afternoon of New Year's Day. However, beginning with the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game became a separate event played at the same site as a host bowl a week following New Year's Day. The new Bowl Championship Series not only included the Big Ten and the Pac-10 conferences but also teams from mid-major conferences, based on performance.

Bowl games

For a complete list of bowl games for the 2009–10 season, see 2009–10 NCAA football bowl games.

In the current BCS format, four bowl games and the National Championship Game are considered "BCS bowl games." The four bowl games are the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona and the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida. In the first eight seasons of the BCS contract, the championship game was rotated among the four bowls, with each bowl game hosting the national championship once every four years.

Starting with the 2007 BCS, the site of the game that served as the last game on January 1 (or if January 1 fell on a Sunday, January 2) in the BCS then served as the host facility of the new stand-alone BCS National Championship game played on January 8 of that year, one week following the playing of the traditional bowl game which would follow the Rose Bowl with the exception of the games to be played in 2010. There are also twenty-seven non-BCS bowls.

Initial plans were for the additional BCS bowl game to be held at the site of that year's championship game, such that the additional, non-championship bowl be named after the original bowl (e.g. the Sugar Bowl when the championship is in New Orleans), and have the extra game just be called "The National Championship Game". Later, the BCS considered having cities bid to be the permanent site of the new BCS game, and to place the new game in the title rotation. In the end, the BCS opted for its original plan.

Television

Initially, ABC held the rights to all four original BCS games, picking up the Fiesta and Orange Bowls from their former homes at CBS, and continuing their lengthy relationships with the Rose and Sugar Bowls. This relationship continued through the bowl games of January, 2006.

Beginning with the 2006–07 season through the 2009–10 season, any BCS game (including the National Championship Game) hosted by the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar Bowls aired on the Fox Network while games hosted by the Rose Bowl were shown on ABC. Starting with the 2010-2011 season, ESPN will air all BCS games, including the Rose Bowl. The TV deal expires with the January 2014 games.

Selection of teams

A set of rules is used to determine which teams compete in the BCS bowl games.

Certain teams are given automatic berths depending on their BCS ranking and conference, as follows:

• The top two teams are given automatic berths in the BCS National Championship Game.
• The champion of a BCS conference (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10, and SEC) is guaranteed an automatic BCS bowl bid.
• The highest ranked champion of a non-BCS conference will receive an automatic berth if:
  • It is ranked in the top twelve, or
  • Ranked in the top sixteen and higher than at least one BCS Conference champion.
• No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year.
• A special case is made for independent Notre Dame, which receives an automatic berth if it finishes in the top eight.
• No more than two teams from any one conference may receive berths in BCS games unless two non-champions from a BCS conference finish as the top two teams in the final BCS standings in which case they will meet in the National Title Game while their conference champion will play in their conference's BCS bowl game.
• The third-ranked team will receive an automatic berth if it has not already received one, and if it is a member of a BCS Conference (and provided that its conference has not already earned two automatic berths), if there's room.
• If the third-ranked team did not require a berth using the previous provision, then the fourth-ranked team will receive an automatic berth if it has not already received one, and if it is a member of a BCS Conference (and provided that its conference has not already earned two automatic berths), if there's room.

Note that in this article, "BCS conference" is used in its popular sense, referring strictly to the six conferences that earn automatic berths in BCS bowl games. The BCS itself officially considers all FBS conferences to be "BCS conferences", using the terms "AQ" and "non-AQ" (automatic qualifier) to distinguish between conferences that automatically earn BCS bowl berths and those that do not.

After the automatic berths have been granted, the remaining berths, known as "at-large" berths, are filled from a pool of teams who are ranked in the top fourteen and have at least nine wins. The actual teams that are chosen for the at-large berths are determined by the individual bowl committees.

If fewer than 10 teams are eligible for selection, then an at-large team will be any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible, has won at least nine regular-season games and is among the top 18 teams in the final BCS Standings, though any at-large team ranked in top 14 will be guaranteed a bid over at-large teams ranked lower than 14th. If fewer than 10 teams are eligible after expanding the at-large pool to 18 teams, then the at-large pool will continue to be expanded by four additional positions in the BCS Standings until 10 or more teams are eligible. No team ranked lower than 14 has used this rule to earn an at-large bid (though, several teams ranked lower than 14 have received a bid for winning their conference), as the rule was not in place in the early years of the BCS.

Unless their champion is involved in the BCS National Championship game, the conference tie-ins are as follows:

• Rose Bowl - Big Ten champ vs. Pac-10 champ
• Fiesta Bowl - Big 12 champ
• Orange Bowl - ACC champ
• Sugar Bowl - SEC champ

The Big East champion takes one of the remaining spots.

Rankings

For the portions of the ranking that are determined by polls and computer-generated rankings, the BCS uses a series of Borda counts to arrive at its overall rankings. This is an example of using a voting system to generate a complete ordered list of winners from both human and computer-constructed votes. Obtaining a fair ranking system is a difficult mathematical problem and numerous algorithms have been proposed for ranking college football teams in particular. One example is the "random-walker rankings" studied by applied mathematicians Thomas Callaghan, Peter Mucha, and Mason Porter that employs the science of complex networks.

1998–2003

The BCS formula calculated the top 25 teams in poll format. After combining a number of factors, a final point total was created and the teams that received the 25 lowest scores were ranked in descending order. The factors were:

• Poll average: Both the AP and ESPN-USA Today coaches polls were averaged to make a number which is the poll average.
• Computer average: An average of the rankings of a team in three different computer polls were gathered (Jeff Sagarin/USA Today, Anderson-Hester/Seattle Times, and New York Times), with a 50% adjusted maximum deviation factor. (For instance, if the computers had ranked a team third, fifth, and twelfth, the poll which ranked the team twelfth would be adjusted to rank the team sixth.)
• Strength of Schedule: This was the team's NCAA rank in strength of schedule divided by 25. A team's strength of schedule was calculated by win/loss record of opponents (66.6%) and cumulative win/loss record of team's opponents' opponents (33.3%). The team who played the toughest schedule was given .04 points, second toughest .08 points, and so on.
• Losses: One point was added for every loss the team has suffered during the season. All games are counted, including Kickoff Classics and conference title games.

Before the 1999-2000 season, five more computer rankings were added to the system: Richard Billingsley, Richard Dunkel, Kenneth Massey, Herman Matthews/Scripps Howard, and David Rothman. The lowest ranking was dropped and the remainder averaged.

Beginning in 2001, The Peter Wolfe and Wes Colley/Atlanta Journal-Constitution computer rankings were used in place of the NYT and Dunkel rankings. The change was made because the BCS wanted computer rankings that did not depend heavily on margin of victory. The highest and lowest rankings were discarded, and the remainder averaged. A team's poll average, computer average, strength of schedule points, and losses were added to create a subtotal.

Also in 2001, a quality win component was added. If a team beat a team which was in the top 15 in the BCS standings, a range of 1.5 to .1 points was subtracted from their total. Beating the #1 ranked team resulted in a subtraction of 1.5 point, beating the #2 team resulted in a deduction of 1.4 points, and so on. Beating the #15 ranked team would have resulted in a deduction of .1 points. A team would only be awarded for a quality win once if it beat a Top 10 team more than once (such as in the regular season and a conference championship game), and quality wins were determined using a team's current subtotal, not the ranking when the game was played. The subtotal ranks were used to determine quality win deductions to create a team's final score.

The BCS continued to purge ranking systems which included margin of victory, causing the removal of the Matthews and Rothman ratings before the 2002 season. Sagarin provided a BCS-specific formula that did not include margin of victory, and the New York Times index returned in a form without margin of victory considerations. In addition, a new computer ranking, the Wesley Colley Matrix, was added. The lowest ranking was dropped and the remaining six averaged. Also in 2002, the quality win component was modified such that the deduction for beating the #1 team in the BCS would be 1.0, declining by 0.1 increments until beating the 10th ranked team at 0.1. Teams on probation were not included in the BCS standings, but quality win points were given to teams who beat teams on probation as if they were ranked accordingly in the BCS.

2004–present

In response to the controversy created by the voters in the AP poll naming USC as the No. 1 ranked team at the end of the year, the formula was completely rewritten. Supporters of USC and the media in general criticized the fact that human polls were not weighted more heavily than computer rankings and this criticism led to the new algorithm.

• AP Poll: A team's AP Poll number is the percentage of the possible points it could receive in the poll. As an example, in the final regular-season poll of 2003, LSU received a total of 1,580 out of a possible 1,625 points from the voters, giving them an AP Poll percentage of 97.2.
• Coaches' Poll: This is calculated in the same manner as the AP Poll number. For LSU, their final regular-season number in this poll would have been 99.4 (1,516 out of 1,525 possible points).
• Computer Average: The BCS used six ranking systems: Jeff Sagarin, Anderson/Hester, Richard Billingsley, Wes Colley, Kenneth Massey, and Peter Wolfe. In the calculation, the highest and lowest ranking for each team are dropped. Then, it will give a team 25 points for a Number 1 ranking in an individual system, 24 points for Number 2, and so on down to 1 point. Each team's set of numbers is then added, conveniently making the number compatible with the percentages from the two polls. To address concerns about loss of the schedule strength factor, the description of the computer rankings explicitly included schedule strength as a consideration.

For USC, dropping their highest and lowest computer rankings would have left them with four third-place finishes, worth 23 points each for a total of 92, while LSU would have had four second-place finishes for a total of 96. The BCS averaged the three numbers obtained above, divided the result by 100, and converted it to a decimal fraction. This system placed twice as much emphasis on human polls than computer rankings (since there were two human polls and an average of six computer polls), and made it highly unlikely that the top team in both human polls would be denied a place in the title game, as it happened in 2003–04. The BCS formula for the 2005-06 season was the same as 2004-05, except that the Harris Interactive College Football Poll replaced the AP poll. ^{[1] [2]} The Harris Interactive College Football Poll's maximum point value was 2,825 and for the Coaches' Poll, it was 1,550. The Harris Interactive College Football Poll was created expressly to replace the AP Poll after the Associated Press refused the use of its poll as a component of the BCS formula. Before the 2006-07 season, the maximum point value of the Harris Poll was increased to 2,850 and the USA Today/Coaches' Poll was increased to 1,575.

In the week of April 20, 2009, Bowl Championship Series commissioners were meeting for its annual spring meetings in Pasadena, California in conjunction with the Rose Bowl's staging the 2010 BCS title game. The commissioners considered a proposal from the Mountain West Conference, which would establish an eight-team playoff and provide better accesses to the four BCS bowl games for the five conferences that do not have automatic bids. The proposal also included a motion to replace the BCS rankings with a selection and a motion to change the automatic qualifier criteria to better reflect inter-conference performance. The BCS rejected the proposal in June of 2009, citing a "lack of overall support" among the member conferences. The chief opponents to the creation of a national championship game are the commissioners of the Big 11 (10) and Pac 10 who want to keep the Rose bowl tie in to their conferences. Big 11 commissioner Jim Delaney has been the most vocal opponent to the creation of a national championship playoff system.

History and schedule

Rankings reflect the final BCS standings. Win-Loss data is prior to BCS Bowl.

1998–99 season

These BCS bowl games were played following the 1998 regular season:

• Friday, January 1, 1999 - Rose Bowl presented by AT&T: #9 Wisconsin (10-1, Big Ten champion) 38, #5 UCLA (10-1, Pac-10 champion) 31
• Friday, January 1, 1999 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #4 Ohio State (10-1, At-large) 24, #6 Texas A&M (11-2, Big 12 champion) 14
• Saturday, January 2, 1999 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #8 Florida (9-2, At-large) 31, #15 Syracuse (8-3, Big East champion) 10
• Monday, January 4, 1999 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, (National Championship): #1 Tennessee (12-0, BCS #1, SEC champion) 23, #2 Florida State (11-1, BCS #2, ACC champion) 16

1999–2000 season

These BCS bowl games were played following the 1999 regular season:

• Saturday, January 1, 2000 - Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T: #7 Wisconsin (9-2, Big Ten champion) 17, #22 Stanford (8-3, Pac-10 champion) 9
• Saturday, January 1, 2000 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #8 Michigan (9-2, At-large) 35, #4 Alabama (10-2, SEC champion) 34 (OT)
• Sunday, January 2, 2000 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #3 Nebraska (11-1, Big 12 champion) 31, #5 Tennessee (9-2, At-large) 21
• Tuesday, January 4, 2000 - Nokia Sugar Bowl (National Championship): #1 Florida State (11-0, BCS #1, ACC champion) 46, #2 Virginia Tech (11-0, BCS #2, Big East champion) 29

2000–01 season

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2000 regular season:

• Monday, January 1, 2001 - Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T: #4 Washington (10-1, Pac-10 champion) 34, #17 Purdue (8-3, Big Ten champion) 24
• Monday, January 1, 2001 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #6 Oregon State (10-1, At-large) 41, #11 Notre Dame (9-2, At-large) 9
• Tuesday, January 2, 2001 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #3 Miami (FL) (10-1, Big East champion) 37, #7 Florida (10-2, SEC champion) 20
• Wednesday, January 3, 2001 - FedEx Orange Bowl (National Championship): #1 Oklahoma (11-0, BCS #1, Big 12 champion) 13, #2 Florida State (10-1, BCS #2, ACC champion) 2

2001–02 season

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2001 regular season:

• Tuesday, January 1, 2002 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #4 Oregon (10-1, Pac-10 champion) 38, #3 Colorado (10-2, Big 12 champion) 16
• Tuesday, January 1, 2002 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #13 LSU (9-3, SEC champion) 47, #8 Illinois (10-1, Big Ten champion) 34
• Wednesday, January 2, 2002 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #5 Florida (9-2, At-large) 56, #10 Maryland (10-1, ACC champion) 23
• Thursday, January 3, 2002 - Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T (National Championship): #1 Miami (11-0, BCS #1, Big East champion) 37, #2 Nebraska (11-1, BCS #2) 14

2002–03 season

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2002 regular season:

• Wednesday, January 1, 2003 - Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation 2: #7 Oklahoma (11-2, Big 12 champion) 34, #6 Washington State (10-2, Pac-10 champion) 14
• Wednesday, January 1, 2003 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #3 Georgia (12-1, SEC champion) 26, #14 Florida State (9-4, ACC champion) 13
• Thursday, January 2, 2003 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #4 Southern California (10-2, At-large) 38, #5 Iowa (11-1, At-large) 17
• Friday, January 3, 2003 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (National Championship): #2 Ohio State (13-0, BCS #2, Big Ten champion) 31, #1 Miami (FL) (12-0, BCS #1, Big East champion) 24 (2 OT)

2003–04 season

See also: 2003–04 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2003 regular season:

• Thursday, January 1, 2004 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citibank: #3 Southern California (11-1, Pac-10 champion) 28, #4 Michigan (10-2, Big Ten champion) 14
• Thursday, January 1, 2004 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #9 Miami (10-2, Big East champion) 16, #7 Florida State (10-1, ACC champion) 14
• Friday, January 2, 2004 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #5 Ohio State (10-2, At-large) 35, #10 Kansas State (11-3, Big 12 champion) 28
• Sunday, January 4, 2004 - Nokia Sugar Bowl (National Championship) #2 LSU (12-1, BCS #2, SEC champion) 21, #1 Oklahoma (12-1, BCS #1) 14

2004–05 season

See also: 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2004 regular season:

• Saturday, January 1, 2005 - Rose Bowl presented by Citi: #4 Texas (10-1, At-large) 38, #13 Michigan (9-2, Big Ten champion) 37
• Saturday, January 1, 2005 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #6 Utah (11-0, BCS #6, Mountain West champion, Automatic non-AQ) 35, #21 Pittsburgh (8-3, Big East champion) 7
• Monday, January 3, 2005 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #3 Auburn (12-0, BCS #3, SEC champion) 16, #8 Virginia Tech (10-2, ACC champion) 13
• Tuesday, January 4, 2005 - FedEx Orange Bowl (National Championship): #1 Southern California (12-0, BCS #1, Pac-10 champion) 55, #2 Oklahoma (12-0, BCS #2, Big 12 champion) 19

2005–06 season

See also: 2005–06 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2005 regular season in chronological order:

• Monday, January 2, 2006 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #4 Ohio State (9-2, BCS #4 Automatic) 34, #6 Notre Dame (9-2, Automatic) 20
• Monday, January 2, 2006 - Nokia Sugar Bowl: #11 West Virginia (10-1, Big East champion) 38, #7 Georgia (10-2, SEC champion) 35
• Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #3 Penn State (10-1, Big Ten champion) 26, #22 Florida State (8-4, ACC champion) 23 (3 OT)
• Wednesday, January 4, 2006 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi (National Championship): #2 Texas (12-0, BCS #2, Big 12 champion) 41, #1 Southern California (12-0, BCS #1, Pac-10 champion) 38

2006–07 season

See also: 2006–07 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2006 regular season in chronological order:

• Monday, January 1 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: #5 Southern California (10-2, Pac-10 champion) 32, #3 Michigan (11-1, BCS #3, automatic) 18
• Monday, January 1 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #8 Boise State (12-0, WAC Champion, BCS #8, Automatic non-AQ) 43, #10 Oklahoma (11-2, Big 12 champion) 42 (OT)
• Tuesday, January 2 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #6 Louisville (11-1, Big East champion) 24, #14 Wake Forest (11-2, ACC champion) 13
• Wednesday, January 3 - Allstate Sugar Bowl: #4 LSU (10-2, At-large) 41, #11 Notre Dame (10-2, At-large) 14
• Monday, January 8 - Tostitos BCS National Championship (at the Fiesta Bowl): #2 Florida (11-1, BCS #2, SEC champion) 41, #1 Ohio State (12-0, BCS #1, Big Ten champion) 14

2007–08 season

See also: 2007–08 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2007 regular season in chronological order:

• Tuesday, January 1 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: #7 Southern California (10-2, Pac-10 champion) 49, #13 Illinois (9–3, At-large) 17
• Tuesday, January 1 - Allstate Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia (10–2, At-large) 41, #10 Hawaii (12-0, WAC Champion, BCS #10, Automatic non-AQ) 10
• Wednesday, January 2 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #9 West Virginia (10-2, Big East champion) 48, #4 Oklahoma (11–2, Big 12 champion) 28
• Thursday, January 3 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #8 Kansas (11–1, At-large) 24, #3 Virginia Tech (11–2, ACC champion) 21
• Monday, January 7 - Allstate BCS National Championship: #2 LSU (11–2, BCS #2, SEC champion), 38, #1 Ohio State (11–1, BCS #1, Big Ten champion) 24

2008–09 season

See also: 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS bowl games were played following the 2008 regular season in chronological order:

• Thursday, January 1 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: #5 Southern California (11-1, Pac-10 champion) 38, #8 Penn State (11-1, Big Ten champion) 24
• Thursday, January 1 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #19 Virginia Tech (9-4, ACC champion) 20, #12 Cincinnati (11-2, Big East champion) 7
• Friday, January 2 - Allstate Sugar Bowl: #6 Utah (12-0, MWC champion, BCS #6, Automatic non-AQ) 31, #4 Alabama (12-1, At-large) 17
• Monday, January 5 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #3 Texas (11-1, BCS #3, automatic) 24, #10 Ohio State (10-2, At-large) 21
• Thursday, January 8 - FedEx BCS National Championship: #2 Florida (12-1, BCS #2, SEC champion) 24, vs. #1 Oklahoma (12-1, BCS #1, Big 12 champion) 14

2009–10 season

See also: 2009–10 NCAA football bowl games

These BCS games were played following the 2009 regular season in chronological order:

• Friday, January 1, 2010 - Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: #8 Ohio State (10-2, Big Ten Champion) 26, #7 Oregon (10-2, Pac-10 Champion) 17
• Friday January 1, 2010 - Allstate Sugar Bowl: #5 Florida (12-1, At-large) 51, #3 Cincinnati (12-0, Big East Champion) 24
• Monday, January 4 - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: #6 Boise State (13-0, WAC Champion, At-large) 17, #4 TCU (12-0, MWC Champion, BCS #4, Automatic non-AQ) 10
• Tuesday, January 5 - FedEx Orange Bowl: #10 Iowa (10-2, At-large) 24 vs #9 Georgia Tech (11-2, ACC Champion) 14
• Thursday, January 7 - Citi 2010 BCS National Championship Game: #1 Alabama (13-0, SEC Champion) 37 vs #2 Texas (13-0, Big 12 Champion) 21

BCS bowl wins and appearances by team

Appearances	School	W	L	Pct	Games
8	Ohio State	5	3	.625	Won 1999 Sugar Bowl Won 2003 Fiesta Bowl* Won 2004 Fiesta Bowl Won 2006 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2007 BCS National Championship Game Lost 2008 BCS National Championship Game Lost 2009 Fiesta Bowl Won 2010 Rose Bowl
7	Oklahoma	2	5	.286	Won 2001 Orange Bowl* Won 2003 Rose Bowl Lost 2004 Sugar Bowl* Lost 2005 Orange Bowl* Lost 2007 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2008 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2009 BCS National Championship Game
7	USC	6	1	.857	Won 2003 Orange Bowl Won 2004 Rose Bowl Won 2005 Orange Bowl* Lost 2006 Rose Bowl* Won 2007 Rose Bowl Won 2008 Rose Bowl Won 2009 Rose Bowl
6	Florida	5	1	.833	Won 1999 Orange Bowl Lost 2001 Sugar Bowl Won 2002 Orange Bowl Won 2007 BCS National Championship Game Won 2009 BCS National Championship Game Won 2010 Sugar Bowl
6	Florida State	1	5	.167	Lost 1999 Fiesta Bowl* Won 2000 Sugar Bowl* Lost 2001 Orange Bowl* Lost 2003 Sugar Bowl Lost 2004 Orange Bowl Lost 2006 Orange Bowl
4	LSU	4	0	1.000	Won 2002 Sugar Bowl Won 2004 Sugar Bowl* Won 2007 Sugar Bowl Won 2008 BCS National Championship Game
4	Miami (FL)	3	1	.750	Won 2001 Sugar Bowl Won 2002 Rose Bowl* Lost 2003 Fiesta Bowl* Won 2004 Orange Bowl
4	Michigan	1	3	.250	Won 2000 Orange Bowl Lost 2004 Rose Bowl Lost 2005 Rose Bowl Lost 2007 Rose Bowl
4	Virginia Tech	1	3	.250	Lost 2000 Sugar Bowl* Lost 2005 Sugar Bowl Lost 2008 Orange Bowl Won 2009 Orange Bowl
4	Texas	3	1	.750	Won 2005 Rose Bowl Won 2006 Rose Bowl* Won 2009 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2010 BCS National Championship Game
3	Alabama	1	2	.333	Lost 2000 Orange Bowl Lost 2009 Sugar Bowl Won 2010 BCS National Championship Game
3	Georgia	2	1	.667	Won 2003 Sugar Bowl Lost 2006 Sugar Bowl Won 2008 Sugar Bowl
3	Notre Dame	0	3	.000	Lost 2001 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2006 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2007 Sugar Bowl
2	Boise State	2	0	1.000	Won 2007 Fiesta Bowl Won 2010 Fiesta Bowl
2	Cincinnati	0	2	.000	Lost 2009 Orange Bowl Lost 2010 Sugar Bowl
2	Illinois	0	2	.000	Lost 2002 Sugar Bowl Lost 2008 Rose Bowl
2	Iowa	1	1	.500	Lost 2003 Orange Bowl Won 2010 Orange Bowl
2	Nebraska	1	1	.500	Won 2000 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2002 Rose Bowl*
2	Oregon	1	1	.500	Won 2002 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2010 Rose Bowl
2	Penn State	1	1	.500	Won 2006 Orange Bowl Lost 2009 Rose Bowl
2	Tennessee	1	1	.500	Won 1999 Fiesta Bowl* Lost 2000 Fiesta Bowl
2	Utah	2	0	1.000	Won 2005 Fiesta Bowl Won 2009 Sugar Bowl
2	West Virginia	2	0	1.000	Won 2006 Sugar Bowl Won 2008 Fiesta Bowl
2	Wisconsin	2	0	1.000	Won 1999 Rose Bowl Won 2000 Rose Bowl
1	Auburn	1	0	1.000	Won 2005 Sugar Bowl
1	Colorado	0	1	.000	Lost 2002 Fiesta Bowl
1	Georgia Tech	0	1	.000	Lost 2010 Orange Bowl
1	Hawaii	0	1	.000	Lost 2008 Sugar Bowl
1	Kansas	1	0	1.000	Won 2008 Orange Bowl
1	Kansas State	0	1	.000	Lost 2004 Fiesta Bowl
1	Louisville	1	0	1.000	Won 2007 Orange Bowl
1	Maryland	0	1	.000	Lost 2002 Orange Bowl
1	Oregon State	1	0	1.000	Won 2001 Fiesta Bowl
1	Pittsburgh	0	1	.000	Lost 2005 Fiesta Bowl
1	Purdue	0	1	.000	Lost 2001 Rose Bowl
1	Stanford	0	1	.000	Lost 2000 Rose Bowl
1	Syracuse	0	1	.000	Lost 1999 Orange Bowl
1	TCU	0	1	.000	Lost 2010 Fiesta Bowl
1	Texas A&M	0	1	.000	Lost 1999 Sugar Bowl
1	UCLA	0	1	.000	Lost 1999 Rose Bowl
1	Wake Forest	0	1	.000	Lost 2007 Orange Bowl
1	Washington	1	0	1.000	Won 2001 Rose Bowl
1	Washington State	0	1	.000	Lost 2003 Rose Bowl
*Denotes BCS National Championship Game

BCS National Championship Game wins and appearances by team

Appearances	School	W	L	Pct	Games
4	Oklahoma	1	3	.250	Won 2001 Orange Bowl Lost 2004 Sugar Bowl Lost 2005 Orange Bowl Lost 2009 BCS National Championship Game
3	Ohio State	1	2	.333	Won 2003 Fiesta Bowl Lost 2007 BCS National Championship Game Lost 2008 BCS National Championship Game
3	Florida State	1	2	.333	Lost 1999 Fiesta Bowl Won 2000 Sugar Bowl Lost 2001 Orange Bowl
2	Florida	2	0	1.000	Won 2007 BCS National Championship Game Won 2009 BCS National Championship Game
2	LSU	2	0	1.000	Won 2004 Sugar Bowl Won 2008 BCS National Championship Game
2	USC	1	1	.500	Won 2005 Orange Bowl Lost 2006 Rose Bowl
2	Miami (FL)	1	1	.500	Won 2002 Rose Bowl Lost 2003 Fiesta Bowl
2	Texas	1	1	.500	Won 2006 Rose Bowl Lost 2010 BCS National Championship Game
1	Alabama	1	0	1.000	Won 2010 BCS National Championship Game
1	Tennessee	1	0	1.000	Won 1999 Fiesta Bowl
1	Nebraska	0	1	.000	Lost 2002 Rose Bowl
1	Virginia Tech	0	1	.000	Lost 2000 Sugar Bowl

BCS Bowl wins and appearances by conference

Conference	Appearances	At-large bids	W	L	Pct	# Schools	School(s)
Big Ten	21	9	10	11	.476	7	Ohio State (5-3) Michigan (1-3) Wisconsin (2-0) Penn State (1-1) Illinois (0-2) Iowa (1-1) Purdue (0-1)
SEC	19	7	14	5	.737	6	Florida (5-1) LSU (4-0) Georgia (2-1) Alabama (1-2) Tennessee (1-1) Auburn (1-0)
Big 12	17	5	7	10	.438	7	Oklahoma (2-5) Texas (3-1) Nebraska (1-1) Kansas (1-0) Colorado (0-1) Kansas State (0-1) Texas A&M (0-1)
Pac-10	14	2	9	5	.643	7	USC (6-1) Oregon (1-1) Oregon State (1-0) Washington (1-0) Stanford (0-1) UCLA (0-1) Washington State (0-1)
Big East	12	0	6	6	.500	7	Miami (FL) (3-1) West Virginia (2-0) Louisville (1-0) Cincinnati (0-2) Pittsburgh (0-1) Syracuse (0-1) Virginia Tech* (0-1)
ACC	12	0	2	10	.167	5	Florida State (1-5) Virginia Tech* (1-2) Maryland (0-1) Wake Forest (0-1) Georgia Tech (0-1)
MWC	3	0**	2	1	.667	2	Utah (2-0) TCU (0-1)
WAC	3	1**	2	1	.667	2	Boise State (2-0) Hawaii (0-1)
Independent	3	3	0	3	.000	1	Notre Dame (0-3)
C-USA	0	0	0	0	.000	0
MAC	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Sun Belt	0	0	0	0	.000	0

*Virginia Tech played for both the ACC and Big East, and played in BCS bowl games for both conferences. Note that while Miami has been a member of both the Big East and ACC, it has only been to a BCS Bowl as a member of the Big East.

**Although the Mountain West and WAC do not automatically qualify for BCS bowls, some of their appearances are not considered at-large bids because of the rule allowing the highest ranked team from a non-automatic-qualifying conference to receive an automatic bid if they are in the top 12. Boise State's bid in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl is the only time a team from a non-automatic-qualifying conference has received an at-large bid as TCU received the automatic bid in 2010.

BCS National Championship Game appearances by conference

Conference	Appearances	W	L	Pct	# Schools	School(s)
Big 12	7	2	5	.286	3	Oklahoma (1-3) Texas (1-1) Nebraska (0-1)
SEC	6	6	0	1.000	4	Florida (2-0) LSU (2-0) Alabama (1-0) Tennessee (1-0)
ACC	3	1	2	.333	1	Florida State (1-2)
Big East	3	1	2	.333	2	Miami, FL (1-1) Virginia Tech (0-1)
Big Ten	3	1	2	.333	1	Ohio State (1-2)
Pac-10	2	1	1	.500	1	USC (1-1)

Controversies

Main article: BCS controversies

Criticism

The primary criticism of the BCS centers around the validity of the annual BCS national championship pairings and its designated National Champions. Many critics focus on the BCS methodology itself, which employs subjective voting assessments, while others note the ability for undefeated teams to finish seasons without an opportunity to play the national championship game. In fact, in the last 6 seasons of Division I FBS football, there have been more undefeated non-BCS champions than undefeated BCS champions. Other criticisms involve discrepancies in the allocation of monetary resources from BCS games, as well as the determination of non-championship BCS game participants, which need not comply with the BCS rankings themselves.

A recent survey conducted at the Quinnipiac University found that 63% of individuals interested in college football preferred a playoff system to the BCS, while only 26% favored the status quo. President Barack Obama has been vocal about his opposition to the BCS. During an appearance on Monday Night Football during the 2008 presidential campaign season, ESPN's Chris Berman asked Barack Obama to name one thing about sports he would like to change. Obama responded that he did not like using computer rankings to determine bowl games, and he supported having a college football playoff for the top eight teams. When Steve Kroft asked then-President-elect Obama about the subject during an interview on 60 Minutes, Obama reiterated his support of eight-team playoff; although he has said it is not a legislative priority.

Longtime college football announcer Brent Musburger also voiced his support for a playoff in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. "My dream scenario -- and it's not going to happen -- would be to take eight conference champions, and only conference champions, and play the quarterfinals of a tournament on campuses in mid-December," Musburger said. "The four losers would remain bowl-eligible. The four winners would advance to semifinals on New Year's Day with exclusive TV windows. Then, like now, one week later, there would be the national championship game."

Antitrust lawsuit

In 2008, a lawsuit was threatened due to the exclusion of teams from the non-automatic qualifying conferences in the BCS system. Following Utah's win over Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced an inquiry into whether the BCS system violates federal anti-trust laws. In 2009, senior Utah senator, Orrin Hatch, announced that he was exploring the possibility of a lawsuit against the BCS as an anti-competitive trust under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. On November 27, 2009 the Fort Worth Star-Telegram ran a story that said that Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tx), ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced that he would hold anti-trust hearings on the BCS, again based on the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and its provisions outlawing non-competitive trusts, beginning in May 2010. Meanwhile, various organizations, including the BCS, are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby the federal government both in support and in opposition to a college football playoff system.

According to CBSSports.com wire reports and information obtained by the Associated Press, Senator Orin Hatch received a letter from the justice department concerning the possibility of a legal review of the BCS. The letter, received on January 29, 2010, states that the Obama administration will explore options to establish a college football playoff including (a) an anti-trust lawsuit against the BCS, (b) legal action under Federal Trade Commission consumer protection laws, (c) encouragement of the NCAA to take control of the college football postseason, (d) the establishment of an agency to review the costs and benefits of adopting a playoff system, and (e) continued legislation in favor of a playoff system. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich writes, "The administration shares your belief that the lack of a college football national championship playoff ...raises important questions affecting millions...." BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock responded to the letter that the BCS complies with all laws and is supported by the participating Division I universities.

Support

While there is substantial criticism aimed at the BCS system from coaches, media and fans alike, there is also support for the system. Supporters, such as Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News, cite several advantages that the BCS has over a playoff system. Under the BCS, a single defeat is extremely detrimental to a team's prospects for a national championship , although critics point out regularly that history shows non-BCS conference teams are hurt far more than BCS teams when they lose a game. Supporters contend that this creates a substantial incentive for teams to do their best to win every game. Under a playoff system, front-running teams could be in a position of safety at the end of the regular season and could pull or greatly reduce their use of top players in order to protect them from injuries or give them recovery time (this happens frequently in the NFL) . This is very unlikely to happen in the BCS system where a team in the running for a #1 or #2 ranking at the end of the year would be nearly certain to be punished in the polls enough for a loss that the team would be eliminated from contention.

Supporters also note that while the BCS routinely involves controversy about which two teams are the top teams, in rare instances there is a clear-cut top two; the BCS ensures these top two will play each other for the championship. For example, Miami (FL) and Ohio State in 2002 were the only undefeated teams; both teams had only a couple of close contests. Under the BCS system, these two teams got to play for the championship. Before the BCS, they would likely have played two other schools, and if they both won, then there would be either two champions, or else #2 Ohio State may have been denied a championship despite going 14–0 because they were not the top ranked team .

During the ESPN Classic program The Top Five Reasons You Can't Blame..., football analyst Lee Corso uses as an example a recent season in which Oklahoma, Auburn and USC finished undefeated. Rather than have two of these teams play each other, Oklahoma would likely have gone to the Orange Bowl, Auburn would have gone to the Sugar Bowl, and USC would have gone to the Rose Bowl due to conference committments. "And what would have been settled? Nothing," he said. "At least this way, two of those teams got to play each other."

The NCAA, the governing organization of most collegiate sports, has no official process for determining its FBS (Div. 1-A) champion. Instead, FBS champions are chosen by what the NCAA calls in its official list of champions "selecting organizations".

According to its website, the BCS: "...is managed by the commissioners of the 11 NCAA Division I-A conferences, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame, and representatives of the bowl organizations. "...is a five-game arrangement for post-season college football that is designed to match the two top-rated teams in a national championship game and to create exciting and competitive matchups between eight other highly regarded teams in four other games".

Still, some proponents of the BCS recognize the inconsistency that the system offers. An article taken from BCSfootball.org titled "Playoff Smayoff! We Don't Need It" openly states "...trust the process and we will get it right 80 percent of the time." Many critics point out that "getting it right" 80% of the time is 20% of the time short, and that the BCS has to get it right every time.

BCS Buster

The term "BCS Buster" refers to any team other than Notre Dame not from a BCS conference that manages to earn a spot in a BCS bowl game. These teams are often referred to as non-BCS when discussed outside of the post-season structure.

With the exception of Notre Dame, it is generally more difficult for a non-BCS team to reach a BCS bowl than for a BCS conference team (see rules above), so becoming a BCS Buster is noteworthy. Even though there have been a number of eligible teams, only six teams (from four different schools) have succeeded in becoming BCS Busters.

The University of Utah football program became the first BCS Buster in 2004 after an undefeated season, despite harder limits in place before the addition of a 5th bowl in 2006 made BCS Busters more commonplace. They also became the first team to repeat in 2008. The Utes played in the 2005 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and beat their opponent, the Pittsburgh Panthers, 35–7. During the 2008 season, the Utes finished their regular season schedule undefeated (8–0 in the Mountain West Conference and 12–0 overall) and earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama, winning 31–17.

It is notable that in both seasons Utah participated, Boise State also finished their regular season 12–0 but did not receive a spot in a BCS bowl. In 2006, Boise State became the second BCS Buster after a 12–0 regular season and subsequent Fiesta Bowl berth against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Broncos won 43–42 in overtime.

In 2007, Hawaii also finished the regular season at 12–0, but were defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. This remains the only loss to date by a BCS Buster.

The 2009 season was the first in which two teams from non-BCS conferences earned BCS bowl berths. TCU, which finished the regular season 12–0 as champions of the Mountain West, earned the automatic BCS berth with a #4 finish in the final BCS rankings. Two slots behind the Horned Frogs were WAC champions Boise State, which finished at 13–0 for its second consecutive unbeaten regular season and fourth in six years. The Broncos defeated the Frogs 17-10 in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, which marks the first BCS matchup between non-AQ schools, and the first time in BCS history that two unbeaten teams met in a BCS game other than the title match.

BCS Busters are currently 4–2 in BCS bowls and 3–1 in BCS bowls not against other BCS Busters.

The following table shows all teams that were eligible to become BCS Busters, including the six that succeeded in doing it.

Season

Team

Conference

Regular Season Record

BCS Rank

BCS Bowl

Result

Final Ranking

AP

Coaches

1998

Tulane*

CUSA

11-0

#10

#7

#7

1999

Marshall*

MAC

12-0

#12

#10

#10

2000

TCU*

WAC

10-1

#14

#21

#18

2003

Miami (OH)*

MAC

11-1

#11

#10

#12

2004

Utah

MWC

11-0

#6

Fiesta Bowl

Utah

35

Pittsburgh

7

#4

#5

2004

Boise State**

WAC

11-0

#9

#12

#13

2004

Louisville**

C-USA

10-1

#10

#6

#7

2005

TCU*

MWC

11-1

#14

#11

#9

2006

Boise State

WAC

12-0

#8

Fiesta Bowl

Boise State

43

Oklahoma

42

#5

#6

2007

Hawai'i

WAC

12-0

#10

Sugar Bowl

Georgia

41

Hawai'i

10

#19

#17

2008

Utah

MWC

12-0

#6

Sugar Bowl

Utah

31

Alabama

17

#2

#4

2008

Boise State**

WAC

12-0

#9

#11

#13

2008

TCU**

MWC

10-2

#11

#7

#7

2009

Boise State

WAC

13-0

#6

Fiesta Bowl

Boise State

17

TCU

10

#4

#4

2009

BYU**

MWC

10-2

#14

2009

TCU

MWC

12-0

#4

Fiesta Bowl

Boise State

17

TCU

10

* Would have qualified for an automatic selection to a BCS bowl under post-2005 criteria, and was at the time eligible for an "at-large" selection, but was not chosen. ** Was eligible for an "at-large" selection but was not chosen.

Locations of all BCS conference teams

File:BCS Map.PNG

A map of every university in the BCS Conferences.

Logos

• 1998-2005 BCS logo. An alternate version of this logo (used more often on television) had the ABC network's logomark in place of the star.
  1998-2005 BCS logo. An alternate version of this logo (used more often on television) had the ABC network's logomark in place of the star.
• 
  BCS Logo 2006-2010. An alternate version of this logo (used more often on television) had the Fox logo in lieu of the stars.

See also

• BCS controversies
• NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
• Mythical national championship
• AP Poll
• Coaches Poll
• Harris Interactive College Football Poll
• Grantland Rice Award
• Dickinson System
• Bowl Championship Series on television and radio
• College football playoff debate

Further reading

• Oriard, Michael (2009). Bowled Over: Big-Time College Football from the Sixties to the BCS Era. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807833292. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Home page of the Bowl Championship Series
• Mathematicians Examine the BCS
• Comprehensive projection and analysis of the BCS
• Comprehensive FAQ about the BCS
• Comprehensive breakdown of the BCS
• The "Notre Dame" clause in the BCS contract
• BCS plans to incorporate fifth BCS bowl
• BCS Standings History
• AP Poll and BCS Ranking History

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