Bowl Crap Series

The BCS system was created to provide a way to always have the two best teams play each other. In the years before the BCS system the number one and two teams played each other 16% of the time and now it has been raised to 75% of the time.  The BCS claims that this is a beneficial factor, and to some it may be, but how can one really know who is the best when right behind these number one and two ranked teams there are multiple teams with only one loss because of bad second half.  If a playoff system is implemented, then teams will be allowed to have one fluke week during the season because of one mistake but they will still have to show up during playoffs every week to prove they are the best team.  The rankings are based off of a biased opinion, and opinions are not always right.  At one point in America the majority of the people believed that African Americans were an inferior race and could not survive in the world.  Today, however, we know this is not true and now the majority of student athletes are African American.  The BCS system is flawed and needs to be replaced with a playoff system.

To clearly and fairly prove what team is number one we need to install a playoff system.  The BCS’s first major issue is that they focus too much on the BCS conferences, which are the PAC-12, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, and the ACC.  The teams in these conferences are guaranteed bowl games even if they are not the best.  The finest example would be the 2010 Big East conference winners, the UCONN Huskies.  That year the Big East conference was very weak and because of this, the Huskies won the automatic bid and played in the Fiesta Bowl, even though they were 8-5.  They were crushed by a strong Oklahoma team 48-20.  These automatic bids into these bowls do not show who is the better team but shows how flawed the BCS system really is.  President Obama has even been quoted about the system saying “you cannot truly know who the best is when there are so many one and two loss teams.”  The leader of the free world sees a defective system that needs to change just as much as the rest of the fans of college football do.  According to espn.com, 64% percent of American believes that there should be a playoff system.  The automatic bids are not the only damaged part of the BCS system, but the pre-season ranking system itself.  Undefeated teams such as TCU, Utah, and Boise State are not given a chance to establish themselves when they begin the season unranked and undeserving teams with a loss or two are ranked ahead of them even when they haven’t lost a game.  Bleacherreport.com found that since 2000, Boise State and TCU have combined for more wins than Ohio State and USC, two teams that are supposedly always a number one team.  Boise State has gone undefeated in 2006 and 2008, but because they aren’t a BCS conference team, they are not given the opportunity to play in the championship game.

                Also, switching to a playoff system could earn millions more for the NCAA and the schools involved.  The BCS has become blinded by the importance of sponsors and money that they lose sight of what is important.  What they don’t see, however, is that they could potentially earn millions more in televising the playoffs.  According to cornnation.com ESPN is paying $125 million a season to televise the BCS, but CBS and Turner Sports are paying over $750 million a season to televise the NCAA basketball tournament.  The NCAA is earning $625 million more with a playoff that everybody loves than with a bowl system that is controversial.  Nobody argues that March Madness needs to be changed, but a majority of the people believes that the BCS needs to be changed to a playoff system that would increase their revenue by millions.  Also, because of the increase in bowl games every year, schools are actually losing money by sending their teams to these bowl games that nobody watches and they only sell a couple thousand tickets.  The teams involved in these poor excuse for a bowl game will lose money but can’t turn down the offer of a bowl game.  According to a reporter Husker Mike of cornnation.com, Ohio State lost money by sending its team to the Rose Bowl in 2009 due to the expenses of hotels and other necessities for weeks on end preparing for the bowl itself. 

                The supporters of BCS system claim that there is no problem with the system and that a playoff system would only create problems between schools.  In reality, however, 62% of college players agree that a playoff system would work.  Switching the system into an 8 game playoffs while using the Bowl games for the rest of teams would provide a happy middle for all sides.  You get a playoff system that creates a chance for the top teams to truly prove themselves, and you get the revenue from the bowl games.  Also, BCS supporters claim that a playoff system would take students away from their studies too much.  But in reality, the BCS system steals players away from their school. Last year when Oregon made the BCS championship game, the athletes were released from school for 37 days.  If a playoff system would be implemented they would most likely only lose a day or two for travel instead of 37 days for travel and preparation.  Bowl games prevent these athletes from participating in what they are truly there to do, and that is to get an education.  But when players are taken away for weeks on end to practice and play in a game that leaves a month gap from the end of regular season to the actual game, these players have no choice but to leave their schooling to prepare.

                In conclusion, the BCS system is flawed and needs to be changed to a playoff system.  A playoff system would increase revenue for the NCAA, the universities, and the stations that are involved.  It would also allow athletes to stay in school instead of missing numerous days to prepare, while also allowing these teams to prove themselves on the field instead of on a computerized ranking system and the opinion of others.  The playoffs for NCAA football are clearly the most logical choice for the NCAA and will benefit all involved.