The BCS system versus the playoff system

The NCAA division 1-A football is different from the rest of the sports in that it uses the BCS system to determine its champions instead of the normal playoff system. The BCS includes a polling system to determine the two best teams in the country, who then play against each other at a bowl game and the team that wins becomes the overall national champion. It has been said to be a very complicated formula and less preferred than the play off system.

Supporters of the adoption of a playoff system in the ongoing debate argue that the BCS system is making the football fans to miss the high level of excitement that is normally there in other tournaments. Others say that the true champion can only be determined in the field, so the BCS system should be denounced. This is a well put phrase, in that out of the possible 28 games, only one game counts. If a play off system was adopted, then the fans would have 16 team playoff matches to watch, which is obviously much more exciting compared to watching just one determining game.

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(Bruce Varnadore, Will College football ever have a playoff? ) The BCS system was modified in 2004 and some champion determinants such as the records set by the team, how strong their schedule is and numbers of their wins were eliminated. The new system then included polling, where the coaches and the Associated Press writers were required to vote in order to determine the champions. This means that the voter’s influence on who the champions should be in the current system is two-thirds, compared to that of the old system which was only a quarter, which makes the situation even worse than before.

(James Alder, About. com). The National Council of Athletic Association should adopt the playoff instead of the BCS system that is still in use. It does not seem to understand that the best and most legitimate manner that a champion can be crowned is through establishing a playoff system. They may say that the BCS is a far much better way to look for a champion among American colleges, but the truth of the matter is that it is not. I believe that a champion should defend his title at the pitch through the action he shows, not by being voted in.

This would not only create a lot of excitement for the fans, but it would also give more meaning and gusto to the beginning of the year. Arguments for the playoff. The playoff system would generate as much money as the BSC system. The estimated cash in flows are estimated to be between three to four hundred million dollars, and if this money was distributed fairly among all division 1-A schools, then each school could get approximately 2. 5 million dollars every season. (Bruce Varnadore, will college football ever have a playoff?

) Deserving teams that have good players and who’ve got game are denied the chance to be in the competition for the national championship title. Such teams as the BYU, a non conference team, are not given an equal chance and are therefore left out. This is not only a waste of talent, but is also shows unfairness. The playoff system would establish who the champion is through a one on one competition among all the teams. This is the much preferred bowl among many football fans. A recent opinion poll showed that most people prefer the playoff system than the BSC system.

The results were such that 82 percent of the respondents would love to see a change in the current bowl games system, BSC to a playoff. The playoff system has also been favored because it would at least minimize the doubts concerning who the national champions should be even if it would not completely eliminate them. The play off system would work out just as fine as it does in the other season's games. Those in favor of the BSC system have said that the playoff would take a longer season and student players would not have enough time to concentrate on their academic work.

However, this is not true because the division 1-AA applies a 16 team playoff system, and most times finishes ten days to the New Year, much earlier than the division 1-A games. It would also be much easier to implement the aforementioned system just as the NCAA implemented the BSC system. Arguments against the BSC system. Firstly, the basis on which a national champion is selected is unfair because it is based on statistics of people’s preference and personal opinion instead on the performance in the pitch.

Secondly, there have always been controversies on who the real winner should have been had the game not been judged on the polls, but on action performance. Thirdly, just a single off game can cause the team to be eliminated from the championship contention, and finally, the minor non-BSC conference teams are often disadvantaged because they never get the chance to contend at the championship games. These are just but a few of the many shortcomings of the BSC system that make the fans of the game wonder why the NCAA won’t just adopt the playoff system.

(James Alder, About. com). I think its time that the NCAA woke up, realize that this is the 21st century and bring a lot more excitement to the field. The empty seats at many of the bowl games should be enough indicators to them. Moreover, the idea of “preserving the culture and the integrity of bowl games" has been labeled as a lame excuse to avoid implementing the playoff system. They need to know that football fans deserve the kind of action there used to be just a few years ago, from Rose, Sugar and Gator to the big games at Orange bowl.

(Gilbert Don, College bowls on road to nowhere. ) Works Cited 1) Alder. J. BCS vs. Playoff System, 1/5/2006. About. com, Retrieved 1/15/2009 http://football. about. com/od/bowlchampionship/i/bcsvsplayoffs. htm 2) Gilbert Don, College bowls on road to nowhere, January 4th 2009, HOF blog, Retrieved 1/16/2009: http://blog. hofmag. com/2009/01/04/college-bowls-on-road-to-nowhere/ 3) Varnadore Bruce, will college football ever have a playoff? 2003, College football, Retrieved 1/16/2009: http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring03/Varnadore/index. htm

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