The Bowl Championship Series

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the current method used to select a national champion in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football and explains the structure of college football programs. The paper also explains the two main controversies that surrounds this selection process.

Overview and Structure
Money
Controversy

From the Paper:

"The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is the current method used to select a national champion in NCAA Division I football. The NCAA declares no national champion and has no playoff system. The series has its genesis in the controversies of the 1990s, when there was sometimes no clear national champion, in part because there was no national championship game. Rankings obtained from polls of either coaches or sports writers were used during this time. When both sets of rankings produced the same number one team, that team was considered the consensus best in the country. Aside from not specifically crowning any team "national champion", the system often produced two different number one teams, both claiming to be the best. The NCAA sought to rectify this problem by creating a national championship game, and what followed was a series of attempts to create a system whereby the top two teams met in that game."

Sample of Sources Used:

• No author. "The BCS Is..." FoxSports/BCS. (2006). http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/definition (accessed September 27, 2008)
• No author. "Congress to Look Into 'Deeply Flawed' BCS System" ESPN (2005) http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2245440 (accessed September 27, 2008)
• Nakaso, Dan. "Hawaii's Football Program Funds Meager" Honolulu Advertiser (2007) http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Nov/27/ln/hawaii711270347.html (accessed September 27, 2008)
• Dodd, Dennis. "Winners and Losers: BCS Adds a Fifth Bowl" CBS Sports (2004) http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/7131253 (accessed September 27, 2008)
• Rich, Chas. "IMG, BCS, Fox in a Money Triangle" AOL Sports (2008) http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/07/11/img-bcs-fox-in-a-money-triangle/ (accessed September 27, 2008)

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