A quick description of the BCS is as follows; It is a systems that determines the National Champion for Division 1A College Football, with the “two best” teams squaring off in the BCS National Championship Game. The current situation started with agreements before the 1998 season, the four bowls joined with the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences and the University of Notre Dame to form the BCS. Conference USA also signed on to the agreement.  The BCS has been in place since 1998, but due to a number of controversial selections and pairings, numerous changes have cumulated into what we see today. Prior to 2006, Eight teams were chosen to compete in four Bowl Games; Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl. The BCS replaced the “Bowl Alliance” (1995-1997), which in turn followed the “Bowl Coalition” (1992-1994).

All other NCAA sports determine their champions through a playoff format; Baseball and the Road to Omaha, Basketball and the Final Four and Hockey with the Frozen Four. The playoff formats did not start until the 1930’s and 1940’s but even before that college football was very popular at even surpassed the popularity of professional football, this was due to the great depression and the lack of economic security for both players and management. Consequently, the bowl games began to appear when it became too time consuming and expensive to travel to conduct a playoff.

The first bowl of consequence was in 1902 with the East-West game held in Pasadena California. This game was held on New Years day in conjunction with the Tournament of Roses. In 1901, the Tournament of Roses Parade concluded that the growing sport of football would be a beneficial marketing tool to compliment the parade. “The committee chose to promote a geographical theme, pitting two teams from different parts of the country. Powerhouse Michigan (10-0) got the nod to represent the East, while Pacific champion Stanford (3-1-2) was chosen for the West.” “The game was renamed the Rose Bowl in the late 1920's due to the shape of the new stadium built in Pasadena. By the 1930's, the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl were also held on January 1 to showcase teams from other regions of the country”.

Beginning in the 1940’s college football began to establish contracts that allowed their teams eligibility into championship games. Officially, in 1947 the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific Ten Conference were agreed to commit their champion teams to play in the Rose Bowl.  This agreement still exists under the current BCS. This system created a new problem. This now created the possibility of one or two of the top teams not playing for the National Championship. To address the possible problem, all possible eligible conferences, all the Bowl affiliates and Notre Dame teamed up to create the Bowl Coalition, which when all was said and done was to create one National Championship Game. To make a long story short, a new problem surfaced, any Non-BCS eligible team was not allowed to play in the Championship game, as BYU did in 1984. This system was in place from 1992 to 1994.  In what was possibly one the most controversial years in college football, 1994, ended with two undefeated teams.  “Two teams-Nebraska and Penn State-finished the season undefeated, but the Huskers were awarded the national championship after beating No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl. Penn State, which beat No. 12 Oregon, 38-20, in the Rose Bowl, finished second in both polls”. Needless to say, this was the final year of the “Bowl Coalition” and replaced by the “Bowl Alliance”.  

Beginning in 1995, the “Bowl Alliance” consisting of the five conferences, it was reduced to four, prior to the start of the 1996 season, and only three bowl games (Fiesta, Orange and Sugar). For the next few years, the Championship Game rotated among them. The issue still at hand was that the Big Ten and the Pac-10Rose Bowl, and Non-BCS teams were excluded from the National Championship Game. After negotiations and a round-table of discussions, The BCS, as we know it today, was formed. The Tournament of Roses Association agreed to release the Big Ten and Pac-10 Champions, if it meant a birth in a Championship Game. In addition, the Rose Bowl was now added in the mix as a BCS game and now part of the yearly rotation of games. The Rose Bowl game was also allowed to keep its exclusive TV time and slot as the highly regarded New Years Day Game. As part of this new structure, mid-major conferences were now included in the BCS mix based on their performance. champions, the

The man considered responsible for the creation of the current BCS format is former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer. According the Kramer, he does not see a playoff in the future, largely because of the Rose Bowl. “I don't think they'll get there anytime soon, because the Pac-10 and the Big Ten will never give up (their affiliation with) the Rose Bowl," he says. "And I wouldn't either if I were them." Kramer believes that there were three major objectives with the new creation; 1) to expand interest nationally in the sport, 2) preserve the bowl structure because of the postseason opportunities it provides and 3) bring together the top two teams at the end of the year. Though the system has created controversy around the college football world, one thing is has created is a constant buzz, with interest peaking like it has never been, "People in Florida are now excited about how an Oregon is doing, and people in Louisiana are now interested in how West Virginia is doing," Kramer says. "Games always had a regional attraction; now they've got a national attraction."

Find below a complete description of what and how the BCS works, according to the BCS:

According to the BCS...

The BCS is ...

• The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) 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.
• The bowl games participating are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship Game which will be played each year at one of the bowl sites.
• 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. The conferences are Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Pacific 10, Southeastern and Western Athletic.
• The conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletics director make decisions regarding all BCS issues, in consultation with an athletics directors advisory group and subject to the approval of a presidential oversight committee whose members represent all 117 Division 1-A programs.
• The five BCS games are part of the overall bowl structure. All bowl games provide meaningful season-ending opportunities to teams.
• As one conference commissioner said, "the celebration that occurs among the student-athletes, coaching staff and fans at the end of each bowl games is an indication of the importance of all bowl games."
• The BCS places great premium on the regular season of college football. Football weekends are an important ingredient in the overall college experience-going well beyond simply what occurs in the athletics department. A significant amount of the revenue that supports all athletic programs is generated by regular-season football. And so it is of great importance that the regular season remains strong and vibrant.
• The top two teams were matched in bowl games infrequently before the BCS, when conferences were contractually obligated to certain games and there was no flexibility to attempt to match the top teams.
• The BCS conferences have a contract with Fox Sports to televise the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls through 2010 and the National Championship Games through 2009. ABC has an agreement to continue to televise the 2010 National Championship Game and the Rose Bowl through 2014.

Automatic qualification

1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings will play in the national championship game.

2. The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conferences automatically qualify for BCS games each year.

3. One team from among the champions of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference automatically qualify for a BCS game if either: A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or, B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

4. Notre Dame will automatically qualify for a BCS bowl if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.

5. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 4, and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 3 in the final BCS Standings, that team shall become an automatic qualifier.

6. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 5, and if Step No. 5 has not been applied and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 4 in the final BCS Standings, that team shall become an automatic qualifier.

7. If any slots remain unfilled after the placement of all teams qualifying for an automatic berth, then the bowls shall choose their participants from the "pool of eligible teams" (see below.)

Pool of Eligible Teams

If berths are available after the automatic qualifiers have been identified, then the bowls shall select at-large participants from the "pool of eligible teams," which shall include any Division I-A team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:

A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, not including exempted games, and

B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings

The BCS is Working

The BCS is succeeding. The nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams met only eight times in bowl games in the 57 seasons between 1936 and 1992, when the "bowl coalition" (a predecessor of the BCS) was created. No. 1 and No. 2 have met eight times in the 15 years since 1992. In the nine-year history of the BCS, the AP's No. 1 and No. 2 have met six times.

The BCS is not ...

• It is not a playoff system. It is nothing more than attempt to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams within the bowl system and to create exciting matchups in four other bowl games.
• It is also not an exclusive system that rewards only a few. The University of Utah in 2005, Boise State University in 2006 and the University of Hawaii in 2007 demonstrated that a team from a conference without an annual automatic berth can have access to a BCS bowl game. The selection process has been further adjusted to allow even more such access in the future.

Support for a playoff will be out there, but the main purpose of the system is to have the top two teams play each other in the final. If you look at the history of college football, pre and post BCS, between 1936 and 1992, the No.1 and No.2 teams met only eight times in the 57 bowl games. Sine the inception of this new mathematically based system, the No.1 and No.2 teams have met eight times in the fifteen years since the “Bowl Coalition” was created, and six out of the nine years since the BCS has been in place, including this year with the Sooners of Oklahoma taking on the Florida Gators. On the flip side, is the reason that there is no playoff because of economics and finances, possibly? Previously, conferences that received bowl bids got nothing in return. Since the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, an estimated $70 million dollars have been received by teams and conferences that do no not have that automatic birth into big games. According to the BCS home page, as of January 1, 2008, the economic return from the cities that have hosted the Bowl games has come in around $1.2 billion.

In a recent article by Derrick Fox, President and CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl, his point of view, is that the current state of football, is good for the fans and good for the game. People have a strong passion for football, which is why it makes it so special. The current state of the game gives each week playoff atmosphere. From week one up until the final week of the season one loss can destroy a team and two losses for a championship team is almost unheard of, with the lone exception being LSU in 2007. If you were to change the college football format, as we have it now, would change the landscape of college football completely, as Fox states, “What today's critics don't realize is that a playoff would completely change the current bowl system and be a detriment to the players, fans, universities and local bowl-hosting communities”…. “San Antonio experienced this first hand last year with the Big 12 football championship between number one Missouri and number nine Oklahoma. A majority of the 60,000 fans at the Alamodome were local residents, as Tiger and Sooner fans had difficulty getting flights on a week's notice, while others were saving their money for their bowl trip.” With the current financial situation that we are currently in, the financial stability of the college bowl games is very important. Fox stated, the Valero Alamo Bowl gives opportunity to “hundreds of volunteers, sponsors, ticket buyers, business leaders and media partners in support of a football tradition that means something to San Antonio.”  As previously stated, $1.2 billion has been generated and one can only imagine the numerous jobs that this has created. A playoff could help fix some issues, but if you look at this objectively, currently, college football is at its pinnacle. Any team can win on any day, every game has a playoff atmosphere, and as everyone knows, any publicity is good publicity.

Sources:

• Bowl Championship Series (official website)
• Tournament of Roses (official website)
• 1902 - Michigan 49, Stanford 0 (ESPN)
• Man behind creation of BCS pleased with results - (USA Today, 12/8/2007)
• BCS bowl system good for fans, football - (Derrick Fox, San Antonio News-Express, 11/27/08)

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Devon Teeple is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He can be contacted through the Author Profiles page

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NYSE: DWA) and PepsiCo’s SoBe Lifewater today announced that they have joined together with Intel Corporation and NBC to create a first-of-its kind, nationwide 3D event for Super Bowl XLIII. This first-ever all 3D Super Bowl commercial break event will mark the debut of DreamWorks Animation’s premier 3D movie trailer for its upcoming feature film, "Monsters vs. Aliens," which comes to theaters in the U.S. on March 27th.

In addition, the timeslot will feature a 60-second 3D SoBe Lifewater commercial marking the return of the ultra-hip SoBe lizards, who made noise during last year’s Super Bowl broadcast with one of the most talked about spots. DreamWorks Animation’s history-making 3D movie trailer was animated using Intel’s latest, high-performance processing technologies and will be broadcasted along with the SoBe television spot at the end of the second quarter of the game, which airs on NBC on Sunday, February 1, 2009. Viewers will have the opportunity to re-use their glasses for a special 3D episode of NBC’s hit comedy "Chuck," airing Monday, February 2, 2009 (8-9pm ET.)

Intel has produced over 125 million pairs of 3D glasses, which are being distributed by PepsiCo through the SoBe Lifewater brand. The glasses will be disseminated via 25,000 SoBe Lifewater retail displays in grocery, drug and other retail venues beginning in early January and will be FREE to consumers. Should a display’s supply of glasses run out, consumers can call 1-800-646-2904 in order to obtain a pair.

NBC viewers will be alerted to the SoBe Lifewater Super Bowl Displays via a series of tune-in spots airing beginning on January 19th. Displays and tune-ins will instruct viewers to use their 3D glasses on Super Bowl Sunday, with additional messaging, "Don’t Chuck Your Glasses," prompting viewers to re-use them during the special 3D episode of "Chuck," which will feature a special guest appearance by NBC Sports analyst and Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis.

The 60-second SoBe Lifewater spot, directed by Super Bowl commercial veteran and brand architect Peter Arnell, will mark arguably the first ever Super Bowl ad cross over event - with the SoBe Lizards sharing the screen with characters from the upcoming DreamWorks Animation film that will be showcased in the pod's preceding spot. The SoBe Lizards and stars from DreamWorks’ "Monsters vs. Aliens" will dance alongside current NFL stars in what promises to be among the most highly-anticipated commercials on Super Sunday. The spot features a modern interpretation of the famed ballet Swan Lake, and the rhythmic effects when the players and creatures are infused with the refreshing and re-invigorating impact of SoBe Lifewater.

Source: NBC Sports

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NBC Sports coverage of Saturday night's San Diego Chargers 23-17 overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts earned NBC the best overnight rating for primetime Wild Card Playoff game ever and the best Saturday Wild Card playoff game since 1999. (The NFL began primetime Wild Card games in 2002).

The Colts-Chargers game (8:15-11:45) earned an 18.3 overnight rating and 30 share, tying it with 2003 Atlanta-Green Bay for the highest rating for a Saturday Wild Card game since 1999 (Arizona-Dallas, 20.9/38) and 10 percent higher than last years Jacksonville-Pittsburgh game (16.6/27). The rating peaked during overtime at 11:30 at a 21.6/37.

NBC scored a 17.3/28 in traditional primetime (8-11 p.m. ET), 394 percent higher than Fox, the next highest network (3.5/6) and 90 percent higher than the combined delivery of Fox, CBS (2.9/5) and ABC (2.7/4).

NBC Sports also scored the best two-game average overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in five years. NBC's Wild Card Saturday, featuring Atlanta-Arizona (14.3/28) in the afternoon and Indianapolis-San Diego in primetime, averaged a 16.4 overnight rating and 29 share – the best two-game average overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in five years (2005 on ABC: St. Louis-Seattle in afternoon and NY Jets-San Diego in primetime, 16.5/28).

The 16.4 average overnight rating is also a three percent improvement over the 16.0/28 average for the two Wild Card Saturday games last year (Washington-Seattle in afternoon and Jacksonville-Pittsburgh in primetime).

Gm. 1 – Falcons-Cardinals – Top 10 Markets:
1. Atlanta, 28.2/49
2. Phoenix, 25.8/48
3. Indianapolis, 21.3/36
4. Baltimore, 20.2/35
5. Portland, 19.7/34
6. St. Louis, 18.9/32
7. New Orleans, 18.4/29
8. Ft. Myers, 17.7/31
9. West Palm Beach, 17.4/29
10. Philadelphia, 17.3/31

Gm. 2 – Colts-Chargers – Top 10 Markets:
1. Indianapolis, 45.3/64
2. San Diego, 38.6/63
3. Nashville, 29.8/42
4. Baltimore, 25.1/39
5. Portland, 24.5/36
6. Ft. Myers, 22.8/35
T7. Phoenix, 21.8/36
T7. New Orleans, 21.8/31
9. Charlotte, 21.6/33
T10. Kansas City, 21.2/34
T 10. Las Vegas, 21.2/31

Source: NBC Sports

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The NFL Players Association has cut its list of finalists to replace the late Gene Upshaw as Executive Director to under 10, according to reports in the Washington Post and The Associated Press.

Finalists that are still in the running for the position include Troy Vincent, Trace Armstrong, as well as, sports attorney David Cornwell, past NFLPA president Mike Kenn, and former union executive VP John Spagnola.

The selection will be made at the NFLPA’s annual meetings in Hawaii in March.

Those that are believed to not have made the cut include former NFLPA president George Martin and Cleveland attorney Fred Nance. Nance was in the running to be NFL commissioner two years ago before Roger Goodell was selected.

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ESPN’s third season of Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable television in 2008, set an all-time cable viewership record for the third straight year and drew the year’s three biggest cable household audiences and 13 of the top 15. In three seasons on ESPN, Monday Night Football has registered seven of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history, led by the Eagles-Cowboys telecast on September 15, which attracted cable’s largest household audience ever (an average of 12,953,000 million homes).

ESPN’s 17 Monday Night Football telecasts in 2008 averaged a 8.9 rating, representing an average of 8,679,000 households (11,962,000 viewers – P2+), increases of 3%, 5% and 7%, respectively, vs. 2007 (8.6; 8,277,000 and 11,230,000).  MNF ended on a particularly strong note with last night’s Chicago Bears’ 20-17 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers delivering a 9.8 rating, representing an average of 9,582,000 households (13,803,000 viewers – P2+).  The game ranks as the third-largest household audience on cable this year.

For the season, the accompanying “Monday Night Surround” content on ESPN.com sparked an increase of Monday (through Tuesday at noon ET) traffic to the site of 51% with an average 68.1 million page views per week.  

“ESPN’s Monday Night Football was a resounding success this season with ratings and viewership increases from a year ago and an overwhelmingly positive response from fans to our new approach highlighting technology and X’s and O’s analysis,” said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, program acquisitions & strategy. “By offering quality football content across many platforms, we are proud to continue the tradition of this great franchise which is so revered by fans, players and coaches, and we are already looking forward to MNF’s 40th season in 2009.”

MNF on TV

MNF occupies seven of the top 10 spots on the list of cable’s biggest household audiences ever (excludes breaking news), including the new #1, the September 15 Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys game with an average of 12,953,000 homes (18,608,000 total viewers, based on a 13.3 rating).

ESPN’s NFL games account for 13 of the top 15 biggest household audiences (and eight of the top 10) for any basic cable television program in 2008.  They rank first, second, third, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th.

Other highlights for the 2008 NFL season:

• ESPN led all networks – cable or broadcast – in delivery of all key male demos (men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54) and adults 18-34 every Monday in primetime this season. 
• ESPN led all networks – cable or broadcast – in delivery of adults 18-49 on 15 of 16 Mondays in primetime. 
• Four times, ESPN was the most-watched network – cable or broadcast – in primetime on Monday.
• Since the start of the NFL season, ESPN has led all cable networks in overall household delivery in primetime (an average of 2,335,000 households throughout the week). 
• For the past 9 consecutive weeks, ESPN has led all cable networks in delivery of adult men on a total-day basis, as well as men 18-54.  ESPN has been #1 among M18+ and M18-54 for 13 of the past 15 weeks.

“Monday Night Surround” on ESPN.com

NFL content on ESPN.com, including “Monday Night Surround,” accessed via computers and mobile devices generated an average 68.1 million page views and 9.5 million visits from Monday through Tuesday at noon, up 51% and 19%, respectively, over 2007, according to Web measurement tool

Omniture/Hitbox. Specifically, NFL content on mobile averaged 11.1 million page views and 1.5 million visits for Monday through Tuesday at noon for the season.  In addition, pro football-related video on ESPN.com averaged more than 2.5 million views per week and SportsCenter Right Now averaged 1.5 million views. ESPN football-related podcasts were downloaded an average of more than 641,000 per week since the season kicked off.

Source: ESPN

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