Column: The BCS failure
Published Oct. 12, 2010
As most college football fans would tell you, the BCS ain’t working. This column looks outside the lines of the gridiron to discuss why the BCS robs many communities of a little extra spirit during the fall.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a “sport” as “a source of diversion.” True, sports are a distraction from the stresses of school or work, but they are so much more than that. They have the unique ability to compel you to give a high five to a complete stranger in the seat next to you. They have the power to lift the hopes of a city, a town, a Zou. They build communities.
In college basketball, teams from across the nation start the year knowing they have a chance at playing in the national championship. This past spring, teams like Michigan State provided some relief to their home communities mired in struggling economies, while other teams like Butler and Northern Iowa showed television audiences that, contrary to popular belief, smaller schools do actually have fans.
The Bulldogs and Panthers also proved in the NCAA Tournament the gap between “mid-majors” and power conference schools is shrinking. Butler was one buzzer-beater away from providing the country with one of its stories of the year, while Northern Iowa nominated Ali Farokhmanesh for the most confusing name of the year.
Not all teams in college football start with national championship dreams. Fans of third-ranked Boise State and fourth-ranked Texas Christian University may take solace in top-ranked Alabama’s loss Saturday, but there’s no way either school will participate in the title game, even if they remain undefeated.
Let’s say 19th-ranked Missouri goes undefeated. The Tigers are likely to bypass Boise State and TCU, simply because they’re in a better conference. Would MU deserve it more? Well, yes, because the strength of schedule is harder. But it’s not fair, because teams won’t sign up to play the Broncos or Horned Frogs.
The BCS is greedy; its goal is revenue. By giving preference to larger, more established universities, the BCS feels it has access to their larger fan bases and pocketbooks. What they don’t care about, or realize, are the potential gains to be made in unexposed markets.
There is more apathy for college football in areas that know they don’t have a chance at the national title game, despite their record. Playing for something in the postseason would raise awareness of the teams, universities and communities exorbitantly in the week preceding the game, as well as moderately for the following few seasons. It would provide them with the same hope that each team starts with in NCAA basketball.
Fans in Austin and Tuscaloosa will always follow their football, successful year or not. The NCAA’s goal should be expanding the popularity of collegiate football to areas outside the major conferences.
And if the BCS wants its money, so be it. They can still achieve revenue in these markets, as Boise State proved with its fan base in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
Will the BCS ever let these teams in? No, because they won’t change.
My view is that the BCS doesn’t have to make it easy for these teams -– all they need is a different postseason format to make it possible, which would provide hope, one of the most powerful feelings a community can possess.