Other NCAA sports tournaments started holding post-season play-offs in the 1930's and 1940's to determine their national champion but college football was already very popular by this time. Because travel was both time-consuming and expensive, post-season playoffs were difficult to support. The bowl system that was adopted started in 1902 with the East-West game held in Pasadena, California.
In conjunction with the Tournament of Roses, the East-West Game was held on New Year's Day between a top-rated team representing the West Coast and a team from the East of the Mississippi River. The timing was perfect for fans to travel and take-off from work or school to witness the games due to the holiday season. The new stadium was shaped like a Rose thus; the game was renamed into the Rose Bowl in the late 1920s. The Cotton, Orange, and Sugar Bowl which followed a decade after showcasing the teams representing each region of the country were also held on New Year's Day.
Contracts were signed during the 1940s by the College Football Conferences tying their championship with a certain bowl. Commitment between the Big Ten Conference and the Pac Ten Conference formerly known as the Pacific Coast Conference agreed to join their winning teams in the yearly Rose Bowl. This agreement is still being honored under the BCS. The top two-ranked teams had only played each other for a total of six games since the final poll in the bowl games was released in 1968 right after the system raised the probability of hindering the teams from playing each other. This also increased the possibility of having a divided national championship which has already occurred on many instances.
A great example of this would be the case of the two leading teams in 1991: the University of Miami Hurricanes and the University of Washington Huskies who had to share the national championship title. Because the Huskies were tied in the Rose Bowl in the role of the Pac 10 Conference against the Big Ten of Michigan, while the Miami Hurricanes were tied to the Orange Bowl, there was no way that they could compete with each other. The Miami ended up gaining the Associated Press Poll and the Washington Huskies winning as the number 1 team for the Coaches' Poll.
To remedy the existing problem, a Bowl Coalition was created in 1992 by the joint forces of five (5) Conferences, six (6) Bowl games and the dominating independent Notre Dame. The intent of the Bowl Coalition was to cause a movement for the top two teams to compete in a National Championship game. The Bowl Coalition disregarded the participation of all the other conferences, and made it impossible for a non-bowl coalition team to triumph in a National Championship. Although the traditional tie-ins remained existent between conferences and bowls, the system continued from the period of the 1992 season until the 1994 season. In the need to bring about a championship game, a team would be freed to play in another bowl with the exception of the Big Ten and Pac 10 champions who were already required to play in the Rose Bowl. The Bowl Coalition failed in its attempts to convince the Rose Bowl to free the Big Ten and Pac 10 champions if the need arises for a championship game. In the case of 1994, Penn State never got the chance to play Nebraska in a championship game, both undefeated champions in their respective bowls.
It was during the 1995 season that the Bowl Coalition was reorganized into the Bowl Alliance now with the involvement of five conferences which was reduced to four in the 1996 season; and the Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls. The Pac 10 and Big Ten champions, the Rose Bowl and other non-bowl alliance teams were still not included in the rotation of the championship game among the three bowls.
The 1998 season once again saw reformation from the Bowl Alliance to the Bowl Championship Series. This time, the Rose Bowl operated by the Tournament of Roses Association had agreed to free the champions of the Big Ten and Pac 10 for the National Championship game as necessary. Because of this agreement, the Rose Bowl was placed as an addition to the annual rotation of the national championship and was able to retain its exclusive exposure on a television time slot during the afternoon of New Year's Day. But at the start of the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game held a week after New Year's Day was played at the same location as a host bowl and as a separate event.
The man considered to be behind the creation of the BCS is former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer. Teams from mid-major conferences are now given an opportunity to participate based on their performance and standing. Although none have made it to the National Championship game.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_A_Parks
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment