College sports are a staple of our culture as Americans. Now more than ever more collegiate sports are covered on television thanks to the workings of the many ESPN networks and the 24-7 access and up to the second updates from various sport sites on the internet. If a sport is played through inter-collegiate competition there is a great possibility the post season tournament is covered by some media outlet. Division one schools have the biggest following of sport fans and exposure to televised games but there are many other smaller colleges that compete as well and gain exposure to the media.
Personally I am a huge football fan I and enjoy watching any type of competitive football be it in Pop-Warner leagues, high schools, colleges, or in the different professional football outlets that are available be it the NFL, CFL (Canadian Football League), or the Arena Football League. There are many people who think that professional football takes away from the integrity of the game and that the athletes who play do so simply for money. While players who play in college are playing for the love of the game and the pride of their campus. I find that one of the reasons that college football is so appealing is the tremendous amount of passion that the fans have for the game and the pride they have for their school.
The only negative aspect about college football is the system that has been put in use to determine the national champion of division one football. This system called the BCS is a program that uses a poll from the associated press, the coaches, and calculations from a computer to help determine the best team in the country. At no other level of football is a champion determined my a math geek with a calculator and the opinion of outsiders. The rest of college football in division 1AA, 2, and 3 all have post season tournaments that determine a national champion. There is no reason that division one football teams cannot use a playoff system to determine a football champion. The current system has been in use for 10 years and almost every year there has been controversy with the use of the system. Even president elect Barrack Obama is calling for a football playoff among major college football teams.
Supporters of the BCS say the only thing holding a football playoff back is the tremendous amount of money that is generated by the 33 bowl games that are played during college football’s bowl season. The system that I think would work the best includes keeping the components of the BCS with the polls from the coaches and the media as well as the computer calculations and the other bowl games that are already in place. Have the BCS calculations determine the top 8 teams in the nation and have them play in a tournament to determine the national championship, where it belongs, on the field.
Great posting Nick! I also believe the BCS is a flawed system and should be changed. Undefeated mid major teams such as the Boise State Broncos (few seasons ago) and this years Utah Utes have gotten the shaft because of this system. I do believe there should be a playoff system but everything today is based on profits and marketing. The BCS system won't change anytime soon because the bowl games generate way too much money. I know you brought up the point the BCS system and bowl games could still exist; just add an 8 team playoff system. I agree with you over this but I will play devils advocate. The argument against such a revision once again revolves around marking and revenue. Officials believe the playoff system will not generate as much fan support and following to games as a single major bowl game would. What would happen to the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose bowls? Would there still be as much of a following of fans to the games if playoff events were to be played at those sites? The NCAA and schools just fear they would lose money if they had a playoff system and that is just unfortunate! Schools such as Utah and Boise State will never have a chance to win a National Championship under this current system but NCAA officials don't seem to care.
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