Volume 2 Issue 150
December 8, 2003
Die BCS, Die!
College Football gets even more screwed up, the Swamp starts its comeback, and John Edwards hits the street
So yesterday any legitimacy that college football had as a sport (and it's questionable if there was any left) was destroyed when the BCS system failed to choose the #1 team in the nation to play in the national championship game on January 4. The sheer stupidity of that statement will hopefully spell the death knell for the BCS system, and if there is any hope for college football, it will happen before next year.
For those of you unfamiliar with the BCS system, Division I-A college football is the only NCAA sport that does not have a playoff system to determine its champion. For a long time, the "champion" was determined by rankings in the two major polls, one by sportswriters, and the other by coaches. There were no playoffs, and schools would play in bowl games that usually were determined by conference standing.
However, after a few years of "disputed titles", where the two polls chose opposing winners, or where undefeated teams were not ranked #1, the heads of the big football conferences created the BCS system, where a complex computer formula ranks factors such as poll ratings, number of losses, strength of schedule and such to figure out who the top 6 teams were. They then play in 3 bowl games (which bowl hosts which game rotates) and presumably there is a #1 vs #2 game that results in a national champion.
The Sugar Bowl this year will feature #3 Oklahoma vs. #2 Louisiana State University. Left out are the #1 USC Trojans. All three teams only have 1 loss. But Oklahoma, who is in the championship game despite their #3 ranking, was massacred this week 35-7 by Kansas State. USC's only loss came in triple overtime. Further, once again a team that did not win its conference championship will be in the title game.
So why does college football have this stupid system? Basically, money. The major conferences don't want any of the other 100+ Division I teams taking a cut of their money. The bowl games are also a big business annually. Finally, schools worry that a playoff will make regular season games less important, reducing attendance and profits. Of course, you could always ask the NFL about that...they have a playoff, and there's still a sellout for every Redskins home game, and they suck. And that whole March Madness thing that Division I basketball has, that seems to make a pretty penny, considering CBS payed like a trillion dollars for broadcast rights a few years back.
The big conferences also like the BCS system because it keeps the minor conference out of contention. While in college basketball the "mid-majors" can get decent respect, and a spot in the playoffs, in football, the big conferences are worried about them encroaching on their turf. So, while there is a mathematical chance they could make it, in reality they are shut out of the BCS system. In fact, the only team outside of the major conferences with an annual chance at the BCS is Notre Dame, which does not play in a conference. Some of the smaller schools have had about enough of this, and lead by the President of Tulane, have mounted an anti-BCS offensive that has even resulted in Congressional hearings into whether or not the BCS is an antitrust violation. (Of course it helps the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch, is from Utah, home of Brigham Young, one of the mid-majors shut out.)
Of course, the colleges can't just claim money as a reason not to do a playoff. No, the real reason we can't do a playoff is that it will interfere with the player's studies, hurting them academically, if the season was extended to account for a playoff system. Frankly, this is the biggest bunch of bullshit I've heard since someone told me there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Jim Donnan of ESPN has shown how dumb this argument is, showing that at Ohio State, last year's football champ, the basketball team traveled for 16 games, 11 of them during the week. The football team traveled for 6, all on weekends. Donnan, a former coach, noted that an 8-team bracket that used the New Year's Bowl Games as a first round would only add 6 days of practice for the two teams in the final. In January. Where as I recall, pretty much all schools were on something called Winter Break. Um, and since when was the academics of athletes really important to big schools? If you believe that, then I have some choice oceanfront real estate in Nebraska to sell you. College athletes at big schools are in fact the most exploited people in sports today, reaping millions for their schools while getting inferior educations in what is simply a glorified farm system.
As was seen with the disgraceful conference jockeying earlier in the year (and why the hell do conferences matter if a team that loses its conference championship can automatically be selected for the national title game?) college football is in drastic need of reform. Sadly, the Division I-AA system works well for athletes and fans (and with a playoff! My God! But what about all that studying they do over break!), but it's model is not likely to be emulated. While there has been some discussions among college presidents, and some Congressional pressure, don't hold your breath. And I'll note we're not talking about a 64 team bracket like for basketball. The largest of the proposals call for an 8-team bracket, with the bowl games serving as the first round. At this point, I think USC would be happy for even a 4-team playoff system. But until higher education leaders get their heads out of the money and show some real leadership, that's not going to happen. Ain't America grand? Me, I'll be hoping that the Mummers Parade is on TV nationally somewhere on New Year's...I'm done supporting the greed.
Here are some articles about the BCS Debacle...Tony Kornheiser's is first, and the best, the rest are mostly news stories:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43974-2003Dec7.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43616-2003Dec7.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/08/sports/ncaafootball/08BCS. html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel _ivan&id=1680859
Oh, and the Swamp is now beginning to come off hiatus, though it will be only publishing 2 times a week or so for now. I actually have a part-time job now, and getting ready for the holidays and all will eat up some time too, but look for a slow build up to primary season soon!
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Week:
Hey there homeless people!
