BULL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - NCAA Division 1-A Football is Sports' Biggest Fraud

January 8, 2007 | L.N. Smithee

[Man50D]

Here's the dirty little secret the NCAA won't discuss: Under the current system, of the 112 Division 1-A college teams

You are preaching to the choir about the BCS sham but you need to do a little research before writing. It's no secret there are 119 division 1-A teams. Also The NCAA is phasing out the terms Divisions I-A and I-AA that applied to football. I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, while I-AA is the Football Championship Subdivision.

[L.N. Smithee]

Here's what else I have to say about this. Enjoy, or not.

[Hawk1976]

Boise State is WAC, not Mountain West, for starters.


Second, according to the BCS rules a non-BCS conference team that finishes in the top 12 will receive an invite to a BCS game.

Third, the majority of Division 1-A ADs will never agree to a playoff system under the current configuration. Why? Because currently sixty-four teams get a chance to play in thirty-two bowls, there is more money to be had under the bowl system.

[L.N. Smithee]

You are preaching to the choir about the BCS sham but you need to do a little research before writing. It's no secret there are 119 division 1-A teams. Also The NCAA is phasing out the terms Divisions I-A and I-AA that applied to football. I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, while I-AA is the Football Championship Subdivision.

I have done a ton of research about this topic that was leading up to this thread, but didn't plan on doing it tonight/this morning. I got so ticked at the dismissal of Boise State tonight I just laid it out. It's almost 3 am on the West Coast, and I knew I would make a couple of mistakes, and hoped they wouldn't be big ones.

For the record: Under the current system, of the 119 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (sheesh!) college teams, 52 of them can't possibly win a national championship no matter what.

[L.N. Smithee]

Boise State is WAC, not Mountain West, for starters.

Maddoggit, that was a big one.

Nevertheless, the WAC champ doesn't have a shot at a BCS bowl under normal conditions either -- its predetermined place in the bowl system is the MPC Computer Bowl in Boise.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

There were a lot of teams with 6 6 records getting bowl bids!

[Chi-townChief]

Time to get rid of the BCS and go back to ending the season on New Years's Day.

[joeystoy]

Texas Tech (8-5) celebrated like they won the Super Bowl after defeating Minnesota (6-7). Yes, they overcame a huge second half deficit. But they fell behind to a team that was 6-6 overall 3-5 in their own conference.

That's a Bowl Game?

[L.N. Smithee]

Third, the majority of Division 1-A ADs will never agree to a playoff system under the current configuration. Why? Because currently sixty-four teams get a chance to play in thirty-two bowls, there is more money to be had under the bowl system.

The ratings for the bowl games leading up to New Year's Day are miniscule. There is more money to be had in a playoff system because the games would actually mean something leading up to the championship game. The Times article said the current TV contract would have added another $40 million if they just added one more game in a playoff format. The teams with 7-4 or 6-5 records might be out in the cold for the real prize, but the lump sum of money that is distributed to all the conferences would be greater.

The NCAA tournament explosion hasn't killed the NIT tournament. It's still around, and you could keep the Eat-at-Joe's bowls around too. The schools like Ohio U. and Southern Miss. playing the other day to the delight of only their fans can still have their little games, and one of them can dance on the turf afterwards. A real legitimate system shouldn't be held up to protect the significance of the GMAC Bowl (more like the WGAD bowl).

[philo]

Time to get rid of the BCS and go back to ending the season on New Years's Day.

I agree. As a Pac-10 fan there is no greater reward than the Rose Bowl. I couldn't have been more prouder when my Alma Mater went with a 7-4 record in 1978.

[DugwayDuke]

bump for later.

[Northern Yankee]

I was just talking about this yesterday with our athletic director. Why not have a college tournament like they do for basketball? It can be done easy enough through December, and have the Sweet Sixteen occur during the New Year. Final Four could come in the preceeding week.

Makes sense to me.

[Stallone]

It makes perfect sense - therefore it will never happen.

[Northern Yankee]

LOL... Too true!

[baltoga]

No quick solution, but certainly all conferences should have their own championship game. It's what propelled the Gators to the national championship game and the extra week of play was obvious in the 41-14 trounce of #1 undefeated Ohio State.

[cb]

All you have to do is get rid of all the bowl games, sponsers, cities and fans. Then, you can have home and home playoff series that few will be interested in until the final game.

So....trade all these bowl games and travel and sponsership and tv for a national championship.......which will last till next year?......I don thin so!

[Hatteras]

"One of the mysteriously selected Harris Poll voters, former Washington State coach Jim Walden, actually voted the Gators #1 over Ohio State..."

Can you believe that?! He ACTUALLY thought the Gators were BETTER than the Buckeyes?!!! How ridiculous is THAT!!! Heh, heh, heh...

looser.

[americafirst]

This is an off the cuff 'rant'? Wow Smithee - this is awesome. Two things really tick me off - Boise State ending up after their bowl game ranked 5th and Florida vaulting, as you said, to #2 just in time to play in the Championship game. IMO, the BCS criteria/stats did not support this move and there was no reason for Michigan to fall from #2. Now it turns out that Florida was indeed better than Ohio State and Michigan tanked - but only because they got the chance to PLAY THE GAMES! For the love of god, can we have a playoff?

[Defendingliberty]

1 Forget Utopia
2 Unlike basketball where a Larry Bird can take an carry an Indiana State to the championship game; you need a lot of top athletes to make a powerful football team. Boise State would be 6-6,8-4 or 3-9 in the SEC.
3 It is all about money
3a Teams that put fans in the seats and push TV ratings go to bowls.
4 For my final example...I'm sure the Wake Forest vs Louisville was the lowest rated of the 5 BCS games...this game is as close to your Utopian dream you will ever see....I'll bet you didn't watch it...