BCS offers no real competition
Caleb Sanford
Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: Opinion
In normal life someone's worth is sometimes judged by petty things like their popularity or the opinions of those in power. Be it in the workplace or in the classroom, a person is "measured" by others. This is not the case for sports. The only thing that matters in the end is the scoreboard. Sports is competition in it purest form.
However, college football is an exception. The rules the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) are operated by undermine the fundamental aspects of sports. All three parts of the BCS system are flawed, and have led to widespread corruption and lack of competitive equality.
The BCS System is based on three parts. First, the Harris Interactive Poll makes up what used to be the media part of the BCS equation. Next is the USA Today Coaches Poll which gives, obviously, the opinions of the coaches. Third part is the six computer rankings that are used to determine the overall computer component.
These three parts are put together to create the final poll results that determine which teams compete in what bowls, and which two teams will compete for the national championship. But each of these three components is flawed and cannot possibly project the true national champion.
Let's start with the media poll. Until 2005 the AP Poll had been the only media component of the national poll. A group of more than 60 sportswriters and broadcasters would vote on their choices and would make up one third of the Final Poll average.
After a series of controversies, AP demanded that its poll stop being put into the equation. Because they were the only poll that made their ballots public, they were coming under far more criticism than the voters in the Coaches Poll or the computer rankings.
The Harris Interactive Poll was created to replace the AP Poll. It is composed of former players, coaches, administrators and current and former media who submit votes for the top 25 teams each week. Harris randomly selects 114 members from a pool of nominees to participate in the actual panel.
However, college football is an exception. The rules the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) are operated by undermine the fundamental aspects of sports. All three parts of the BCS system are flawed, and have led to widespread corruption and lack of competitive equality.
The BCS System is based on three parts. First, the Harris Interactive Poll makes up what used to be the media part of the BCS equation. Next is the USA Today Coaches Poll which gives, obviously, the opinions of the coaches. Third part is the six computer rankings that are used to determine the overall computer component.
These three parts are put together to create the final poll results that determine which teams compete in what bowls, and which two teams will compete for the national championship. But each of these three components is flawed and cannot possibly project the true national champion.
Let's start with the media poll. Until 2005 the AP Poll had been the only media component of the national poll. A group of more than 60 sportswriters and broadcasters would vote on their choices and would make up one third of the Final Poll average.
After a series of controversies, AP demanded that its poll stop being put into the equation. Because they were the only poll that made their ballots public, they were coming under far more criticism than the voters in the Coaches Poll or the computer rankings.
The Harris Interactive Poll was created to replace the AP Poll. It is composed of former players, coaches, administrators and current and former media who submit votes for the top 25 teams each week. Harris randomly selects 114 members from a pool of nominees to participate in the actual panel.
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