Will the real National Champ please stand up?

January 12, 2009 by Hepi Mita 

End of college football season leaves fans unfulfilled again

 

The Coaches’ Trophy may be clear as crystal, but the National Championship picture is just as muddy as ever.

Four teams have legitimate claims to the National Title, the most since the BCS’ inception in the 1998 season.

Even President-elect Barack Obama took a break from working on an economic stimulus package to appeal to the NCAA for change we can believe in.

“We need a playoff,” Obama said, when asked about Florida’s 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS championship game. “If I’m Utah, or if I’m USC or if I’m Texas, I might still have some quibbles.”

Despite Obama’s recommendation, BCS officials have not been receptive to a college football play-off system.

“My colleagues and I on the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee have discussed the future of postseason football on many occasions and we do not believe a playoff would be in the best interest of the sport, the student-athletes or our many other constituencies,” said David Frohnmayer, chair of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee.

“We have the most compelling regular season in all of sports, and I’m sure that contributes to Sen. Obama’s enjoyment of our great game,” Frohnmayer said.

However, with 34 bowl games this season, the most ever in NCAA history, the glory of a bowl victory has been cheapened.

It seems that the current BCS administrators have sacrificed the excitement of the post season to keep intrigue alive during the regular season. However, most of the appeal of competitive sports comes in finding out who is the best, and as it stands the BCS does not coherently determine that.

Division I-FBS football is currently the only NCAA sport that does not use a playoff or tournament-based system to decide its champion and seems to be the only NCAA sport whose post-season controversy provokes the president to speak out.

However, the real question: is there a system that will satisfy both BCS officials and the public?

In the past two decades, three different formats have been applied to select a National Champion – all have produced unsatisfying results.

The challenge lies in making a system that preserves the excitement of the regular season, while making the post-season more relevant.

Although, the current BCS administration sees no reason to change, it is clear that the system will soon be subject to revision.

David Frohnmayer is set to retire from his position as chair of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee in 2009, leaving the door open to a candidate who may be more receptive to a play-off system.

Frohnmayer’s departure is closely followed by the expiration of the BCS’s contract with Fox in 2010, which gives administrators another opportunity to change the BCS system.

Though it isn’t guaranteed that any new system would produce an undisputed champion, a four- or eight- team tournament would be a step in the right direction.