Jump to content

BCS National Championship Game

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Standleylake40 (talk | contribs) at 21:20, 6 December 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

BCS National Championship Game
File:Bcsuscnationalchamps.jpg
The winner of the BCS National Championship Game receives the AFCA National Championship Trophy.
StadiumRotates among the following:
University of Phoenix Stadium;
Louisiana Superdome;
LandShark Stadium; &
Rose Bowl
LocationRotates among the following:
Template:City-state;
Template:City-state;
Template:City-state; &
Template:City-state
Operated1998-present
PayoutUS$18,000,000 (As of 2009)
Sponsors
Tostitos (1999, 2003, 2007)
Nokia (2000, 2004)
FedEx (2001, 2005, 2009)
AT&T (2002)
Allstate (2008)
Citi (2006, 2010)
2009 matchup
Oklahoma vs. Florida (Florida 24-14)
2010 matchup
Texas Christian vs. Alabama (January 7)

The BCS National Championship Game is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as NCAA Division I-A). The participants are the two highest-ranked teams in the BCS standings at the end of the regular college football season, currently determined by averaging the results of the final weekly USA Today Coaches' Poll, Harris Interactive Poll of media, former players and coaches, and the average of six participating Computer rankings.

The game was first played at the conclusion of the 1998 college football season in accordance with the agreement reached by the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences and the Rose Bowl Game to join the members of the former "Bowl Alliance" to create the Bowl Championship Series. The Bowl Alliance and its predecessor, the Bowl Coalition, featured championship games from 1992 through 1997. However, these were hindered by the lack of potential participation by the champions of the Big Ten or Pac-10.

The game was initially rotated among the four participating bowl games, the (Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Sugar Bowl). 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 USA Today Coaches' Poll has contractually agreed to select the winner of the game as the national champion in its final poll of the season. Thus, the winner of the game is awarded the AFCA National Championship Trophy in a postgame ceremony. The winner also is automatically awarded the National Football Foundation's MacArthur Trophy.[1] However, the Associated Press does not participate in the BCS and may award its national championship trophy to a different school. The AP has done so once to date, awarding its 2003 trophy to the University of Southern California.

Since the formation of the Bowl Championship Series, there have been several controversies regarding the selection of the participating teams. Most notably, following the 2003 season, the BCS ranking system excluded Associated Press #1 University of Southern California from the National Championship Game (the Nokia Sugar Bowl). The following season, in 2004, undefeated Auburn University, Boise State University and University of Utah teams were left out of the National Championship Game (the FedEx Orange Bowl), although the participating teams were undefeated as well. In 2001, Oregon, second ranked in the AP poll, was bypassed in favor of Nebraska despite Nebraska's blowout loss in its final regular season game to the University of Colorado. Most recently, in 2008, the University of Utah was excluded from the BCS championship for a second time despite being the only undefeated Division I-A team at the end of the season and finished second behind 13-1 Florida. Despite these controversies, since the inauguration of the BCS National Championship Game, to date only the 2003-2004 season resulted in a split national championship, when USC won the Associated Press national championship.

The National Championship Game for the 2007 season was sponsored by Allstate, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 7, 2008, and broadcast by FOX television network. The game featured the #2 LSU Tigers and the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes. LSU won 38-24 to become the first team to win two BCS national championships. Additionally, LSU became the first team with two losses to play in a BCS National Championship Game.

The game for the 2008 season was played on January 8, 2009, in Miami, Florida, and was broadcast on FOX, and sponsored by FedEx. It featured the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators. Florida won by a score of 24-14, becoming the BCS national champion and ranking first in both the final AP and USA Today polls. Additionally, Florida became the second team to win two BCS national championships.[2]

Future

The game's location rotates among the sites of the BCS bowls. Future scheduled sites are as follows (note the years shown are for the game, which occurs in the calendar year following the corresponding NCAA football season):

The title sponsor of the BCS National Championship Game each year will be the same as that of the bowl game in that year's host location. Thus, the 2007 game was the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game, after the title sponsor of the Fiesta Bowl. The following year saw it become the Allstate BCS National Championship, and the 2009 game bears the FedEx brand. The 2010 game will have Citi as its title sponsor.[3]

Based upon television contracts between the BCS and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses with ESPN, the BCS will retain its current format through at least the 2014 season. ABC will televise the 2010 game.

Criticisms and controversy

Critics of the current BCS championship complain that the national champion is decided by polls and computers—not by competition on the field. The BCS method chooses only the top two ranked teams, according to a combination of the BCS computer rankings and two human polls, to compete for the national championship.

This has often led to controversy and questions as to whether the team who won the BCS National Championship Game is actually the best team. In 2003, for example, USC was not included in the BCS Championship Game, but beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and ended up #1 in the Associated Press final poll. The following season, USC and Oklahoma finished #1 and #2 in the final BCS poll before the games, while an undefeated Auburn team from the SEC finished third and was thus left out of the national championship game.

In all other NCAA sporting events, the national champions are determined by a playoff system.

Many critics of the Bowl Championship Series favor a larger championship tournament with eight to sixteen teams, similar to that administered by the NCAA for its Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, and Division III football championships. Others favor adopting the incremental step of adding a single post-bowl championship game between the winners of two BCS games among the top four ranked teams in the BCS standings, the so-called "plus one" option. The SEC and ACC conferences have recently been pushing for some form of playoff system. On June 24, 2009, the BCS presidential oversight committee rejected the Mountain West Conference's proposed eight-team playoff plan.[4]

One idea gaining momentum that would combine both a playoff and the keep the heritage of the Bowls, would be to take the 3 large bowls that share the hosting of the National Championship and make them the playoff. Two of the Bowls would host #1 vs. #4, and the other #2 vs. #3. The third Bowl would host the winners that would determine the national champion. The three Bowls would rotate who hosted the above each year. This way there is a very high potential that the top team in the nation is in the top 4 and would play.

Game results

  • For Bowl Coalition championship game results from 1992-1994, see: Bowl Coalition
  • For Bowl Alliance championship game results from 1995-1997, see: Bowl Alliance
Season Date Winner Loser Bowl Game Site MVP
1998 January 4, 1999 1 Tennessee (SEC) 23 2 Florida State (ACC) 16 1999 Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, Arizona
Peerless Price, Dwayne Goodrich
1999 January 4, 2000 1 Florida State (ACC) 46 2 Virginia Tech (Big East) 29 2000 Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Peter Warrick
2000 January 3, 2001 1 Oklahoma (Big 12) 13 2 Florida State (ACC) 2 2001 Orange Bowl Pro Player Stadium
Miami, Florida
Torrance Marshall
2001 January 3, 2002 1 Miami (Florida) (Big East) 37 2 Nebraska (Big 12) 14 2002 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson
2002 January 3, 2003 2 Ohio State (Big Ten) 31 1 Miami (Florida) (Big East) 24 2003 Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, Arizona
Craig Krenzel, Mike Doss
2003 January 4, 2004 2 LSU (SEC) 21 1 Oklahoma (Big 12) 14 2004 Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Justin Vincent
2004 January 4, 2005 1 USC (Pac-10) 55 2 Oklahoma (Big 12) 19 2005 Orange Bowl Pro Player Stadium
Miami, Florida
Matt Leinart
2005 January 4, 2006 2 Texas (Big 12) 41 1 USC (Pac-10) 38 2006 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Vince Young (offense);
Michael Huff (defense)
2006 January 8, 2007 2 Florida (SEC) 41 1 Ohio State (Big Ten) 14 2007 BCS National Championship Game University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, Arizona
Chris Leak (offense);
Derrick Harvey (defense)
2007 January 7, 2008 2 LSU (SEC) 38 1 Ohio State (Big Ten) 24 2008 BCS National Championship Game Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Matt Flynn (offense);
Ricky Jean-Francois (defense)
2008 January 8, 2009 2 Florida (SEC) 24 1 Oklahoma (Big 12) 14 2009 BCS National Championship Game Dolphins Stadium
Miami, Florida
Tim Tebow (offense);
Carlos Dunlap (defense)
2009 January 7, 2010 2010 BCS National Championship Game Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Template:Fnb †Double overtime

Records by conference

Conference Wins Losses Winning Teams Losing Teams
SEC 5 0 Tennessee, LSU (2), Florida (2)
Big 12 2 4 Oklahoma, Texas Oklahoma (3), Nebraska
ACC 1 2 Florida State Florida State (2)
Big East 1 2 Miami (FL) Virginia Tech, Miami (FL)
Big Ten 1 2 Ohio State Ohio State (2)
Pac-10 1 1 USC USC

Records by team

Team Wins Losses Percentage Title Seasons
LSU 2 0 1.000 2003, 2007
Florida 2 0 1.000 2006, 2008
Tennessee 1 0 1.000 1998
Texas 1 0 1.000 2005
Miami (FL) 1 1 .500 2001
USC 1 1 .500 2004
Florida State 1 2 .333 1999
Ohio State 1 2 .333 2002
Oklahoma 1 3 .250 2000
Nebraska 0 1 .000
Virginia Tech 0 1 .000

Media coverage

Television

From 1999 through 2006, ABC broadcast eight BCS National Championship Games pursuant to broadcasting rights negotiated with the BCS and the Rose Bowl, whose rights were offered separately. Beginning with the 2006–07 season, FOX obtained the BCS package, consisting of the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and the BCS National Championship Games hosted by these bowls, with ABC retaining the rights to the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship Games hosted by the Rose Bowl. This means FOX has the rights to the 2009 BCS Championship Game, and ABC will have the rights to the 2010 National Championship Game.

On November 18, 2008, the BCS announced that ESPN had won the television rights to the BCS National Championship Game for 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. The contract with ESPN is notable as it appears the BCS National Championship Game will become the most prominent annual sporting event not to be shown over broadcast television.[5]

Date Network Bowl Play-by-play announcer Color analyst Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) TV Rating[6]
1999 ABC Fiesta Bowl Keith Jackson Bob Griese Lynn Swann John Saunders Terry Bowden 17.2
2000 ABC Sugar Bowl Brent Musburger Gary Danielson Lynn Swann
Jack Arute
John Saunders Terry Bowden 17.5
2001 ABC Orange Bowl Brad Nessler Bob Griese Lynn Swann
Jack Arute
John Saunders Terry Bowden 17.8
2002 ABC Rose Bowl Keith Jackson Tim Brant Lynn Swann
Todd Harris
John Saunders Terry Bowden 13.9
2003 ABC Fiesta Bowl Keith Jackson Dan Fouts Lynn Swann
Todd Harris
John Saunders Terry Bowden 17.2
2004 ABC Sugar Bowl Brent Musburger Gary Danielson Lynn Swann
Jack Arute
John Saunders Terry Bowden
Craig James
14.5
2005 ABC Orange Bowl Brad Nessler Bob Griese Lynn Swann
Todd Harris
John Saunders Craig James
Aaron Taylor
13.7
2006 ABC Rose Bowl Keith Jackson Dan Fouts Todd Harris
Holly Rowe
John Saunders Craig James
Aaron Taylor
21.7
2007 FOX Tostitos
BCS National Championship Game
Thom Brennaman Barry Alvarez
Charles Davis
Chris Myers Chris Rose Eddie George
Emmitt Smith
Jimmy Johnson
17.4
2008 FOX Allstate
BCS National Championship Game
Thom Brennaman Charles Davis Chris Myers Chris Rose Eddie George
Urban Meyer
Jimmy Johnson
17.4
2009 FOX FedEx
BCS National Championship Game
Thom Brennaman Charles Davis Chris Myers Chris Rose Eddie George
Barry Switzer
Jimmy Johnson
15.8
(26.8 million viewers)
2010 ABC Citi
BCS National Championship Game
Brent Musburger Kirk Herbstreit Lisa Salters John Saunders Jesse Palmer TBD
2011 ESPN BCS National Championship Game TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2012 ESPN BCS National Championship Game TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2013 ESPN BCS National Championship Game TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2014 ESPN BCS National Championship Game TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
  Expected announcer, subject to change.

Radio

Date Network Bowl Play-by-play announcer Color analyst Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s)
2010 ESPN Radio Mike Tirico Jon Gruden and Todd Blackledge
2007 ESPN Radio Tostitos
BCS National Championship Game
Brent Musburger Bob Davie and Todd Blackledge Lisa Salters

References