To truly understand why the BCS is even in existence, one must first understand the factors that led to its creation.
Prior to 1992, there was no system or set of rules that would guarantee the two best teams in college football would meet for the national title. If a matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 actually transpired in a bowl game, it would have been based on little more than dumb luck.
A majority of Bowl games up until 1992 were based on conference tie-ins between conferences and bowls, and in that regard, little has changed today.
For example, the Big Ten winner and the Pac-10 winner used to always meet in the Rose Bowl. In fact, from 1947 through 2001 the Rose Bowl was played exclusively between a Big Ten and Pac-10 school. Not until 2002 did this change with the Miami vs. Nebraska National title game.
The SEC winner has typically gone to the Sugar Bowl. Keeping in mind that Georgia Tech and Tulane used to play in the SEC, an SEC school has participated in the Sugar Bowl 89 percent of the time since 1935.
The now defunct Southwest Conference champion would usually go to the Cotton Bowl. The Big 8, which was basically Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Colorado, would typically go to the Orange Bowl.
In 1990, the landscape of college football changed in a major way when Arkansas seceded from the SWC to join the SEC. In 1993, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor all followed suit and left the SWC to merge with the Big 8, thus forming the Big 12 that we know today.
Prior to the Arkansas bailout, the SWC, SEC, Pac-10, Big 8, and Big Ten were the power conferences of their times. Problem is, these teams seldom got to play each other in the postseason due to bowl tie-ins. You could have an undefeated USC team and an undefeated Alabama, but USC would have been contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl.
Therefore, the best two teams were playing 2,000 miles away on New Year's Day.
Over the years, this scenario left the possibility for several undefeated teams at season's end, and prior to 1992 that happened on numerous occasions. How was the national title determined up until 1992? By the Associated Press (A.K.A. Sportswriters) and the UPI (AKA the coaches' poll), while some smaller media outlets crowned their own champions.
This led to many "mythical national titles," and in a few instances, up to six National Champions were crowned in the same year. In 1981, Clemson, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Texas, and SMU all claimed a share of the national title. The National Championship was split five ways in 1951, 1960, 1970, 1973, and 1980. It was split four ways in 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1975, 1977, 1984, 1990, and 1993.
The problem rested with the sportswriters and coaches who voted in their respective polls. They refused to look at the complete season with any degree of objectivity. They were almost always extremely subjective and biased toward the teams within their own conferences.
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about 1 month ago
The BCS sucks and it must be amended. It has not solved anything. You've said in your own words that in eight of the 10 years since its inception there has been extreme controversy. A playoff must come to pass, it's the only fair way. Nice article.
about 1 month ago
Excellent article. More people need to learn about the background of the BCS. You might be interested in reading the anti-playoff rants on my blog.
from about 1 month ago
Right, Lou and I'm the pope.
from about 1 month ago
Brad, you're a troll.
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