Boise State and the BCS

By Scott Kornberg

As usual, Bowl Championship Series critics are condemning how the BCS process always seems to find a way to leave out the Cinderella’s of the sports. In this article by Tim Brando, Brando harps on the fact that the college football “National” Championship, is in fact, not “National” because teams like Boise State and TCU consistently get left out.

The one thing missing for college football is the Cinderella. The Cinderella is what makes college basketball great, and it could do the same for college football in the fall. Think back to 2006 when the #11 seed George Mason somehow danced to the Final Four. Or in 2008 when the #8 seed Davidson barely lost to the #1 seed Kansas in the Elite Eight. A more recent example is the #5 seed Butler Bulldogs coming within a missed half-court prayer of being the National Champion this past season.  Those teams made miraculous runs, and made each of those tournaments memorable to fans.

There is no miraculous run to be had in college football without a playoff system. Last year, Boise State was not given a chance to be the “National” Champion despite finishing undefeated. The Broncos were not given that chance either when they were undefeated in 2006, or in 2008, when Boise State had one loss. That one loss was the same amount of losses that the LSU Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes had coming into their battle for the “National” Championship.

With no playoff system in place this year, the likelihood of a Cinderella crashing the BCS “National” Championship scene is slim. Boise State seems to be the most probable candidate, as they will likely enter the season ranked in the Top 5. The Broncos, however, will face only one team that finished with more than 8 wins last year (Virginia Tech). They played a slightly more difficult regular season schedule last year, with two teams on their slate that finished with 8 wins or more from the 2008 season (Oregon and Tulsa). The Broncos, or any other “Cinderella” team, are going to need to finish undefeated and hope that every other team in the country loses at least once in order to have a chance to play for the “National” Championship because the BCS computers will deem their schedule too weak to vault the major-conference teams with similar records. A playoff system is the only way to give these small-conference teams a fair chance at the BCS “National” Championship.

Scott Kornberg is a sportscaster for WMUC Sports (www.wmucsports.com). He hosts his own sports talk show, and announces baseball and softball games for the University of Maryland. He covers Maryland’s football and basketball writing for www.turtlesportsreport.com part of the scout.com network.

A tournament. What a novel concept. 

No matter how many people complain about how easy Duke’s road is to the Final Four this year – which has generated enough conspiracy theories to fill a book - Jon Scheyer and the gang still have to play the games. Getting there is no cake walk in NCAA basketball like it is in other sports.  Coach K will tell you it’s true.

What frustrates college football fans so much this time of year is reflecting on what could have been and what could be. The sport would not merely be improved by a playoff, but rather brought up to the standards of every other sport in NCAA competition.

Doesn’t it strike you as odd that this one sport continues to buck the trend, playing by its own off-the-field rules using backroom deals and million dollar-payoffs to continue this sadness for 90% of its fans. All of this amidst the NCAA Tournament in basketball which happens to be one of the greatest weekends if not the greatest month in sports.

NCAA Basketball has found a way to generate close to 90% of its revenue from 3 weeks of games. The buzz is unbelievable. So much so that the NCAA may end up backing out of its deal with CBS just to renegotiate the inclusion of another 32 teams. 

That’s right. Expansion is a real possibility. Whether that would be good or bad for the sport is another story centered on supply-and-demand arguments.

What’s shocking about that idea is that while the good ol’ boys in college football stonewall and stagnate on any change that might help their sport, improve their image among fans, and actually give up the sham of the current BCS system – which makes fans wait a month for a consistently uninteresting lineup of blowouts all for the sake of the University Presidents, Conference Commissioners, and NCAA honchos receiving their yearly bonuses – NCAA Basketball is looking to improve.

Long-time CBS broadcaster Billy Packer commented that the “decision is not a basketball decision.  It has everything to do with finances.” While many share his view that expansion is about the money first and foremost, the ultimate product would provide more opportunity for sports fans’ fringe teams typically relegated to the NIT. It also provides more games to watch. Less excitement? Perhaps. But consider the Cinderella story of a 9 game winning streak to reach the trophy. That story would be available to any school to claim as their own.

It’s about opportunity, the product for the fan, and as alway, the money.

Let today be a lesson to all those in favor of the BCS. Your inferior product makes you feel a little dirty every time you cash their checks and argue it’s better for the sport, doesn’t it? (This last sentence is based on the premise that the only people who are pro-BCS receive money from the organization, the NCAA, or a media-affiliate.)

For the rest of us sports fans today, you can lean back in your office chair, size up your brackets, and enjoy the next 3 weeks knowing anything can happen. Upsets are the rule rather than the exception. It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan. If only our winters could be this entertaining; fairly determining a champion of the sport we love.

It’s over now. #1 played #2 and #1 was victorious.

It was a great game, with a little of everything in it for college football fans – interceptions, injuries, trick plays, and heartwarming stories of players who faced adversity and kept going.

However, there was something just not right about it.  This is not the game we should have had.

It has been over a month since the BCS, aided by computers (what would we do without them?), decided which two teams would face each other in its don’t-call-it-a-national-championship game. There were four more Saturdays of college football in which the fans could have had the playoff that included all of the best teams in football, not just those ordained by a group of insiders deadset on protecting their million dollar paychecks.

Joe Paterno said it best in a recent interview with ESPN. “We must have a championship game. We get forgotten after we finish the season. I don’t like the BCS. I think we need a playoff.”

The team with even one loss gets forgotten because their fate is decided immediately upon the regular season’s end. And what’s worse for teams that are not in an elite conference such as Penn State, even with a perfect season, a mid-major will be similarly exiled. Just ask Boise State how they felt after beating TCU in the anticlimactic Fiesta Bowl.

As responsible sports fans, we want the college football season to last with an eye toward keeping our school’s athletes healthy – but with meaningful games leading up to the crowning of a true champion.

Without a playoff in the month of December, we will never know. If that means Alabama doesn’t play Jack State in September, so be it. We’d rather see an Alabama-Florida playoff rematch then the Florida-Charleston Southern blowout in Week 1.

Picking the final two teams for NCAA Football’s top prize  shouldn’t include a debate of what clique they hang out in. In this new decade, let the champion be decided on the field.

The pressure is coming to bear on the BCS to change their ways. Momentum is building from fans and sports media and it is reaching the point where it is very likely that College Bowls will be “flushed” and playoffs will be instituted.

We are at a real tipping point. It has been said that there are 3 types of
people in the World; those people who make things happen; those people who watch things happen; and those people who never knew what happened. SFC needs people who make things happen and we need you now.

Together with your help, SFC can help put a stake in the heart of the BCS. We
need you to join SFC to help us help you make this happen. We are so close
to bringing equity and fairness to college football. A success in killing
off the bowl system will empower the fan to realize many more
accomplishments in areas like blackouts of games, ticket pricing, stadium
funding, etc.

Let’s double up our efforts today to help bring real change to college
football.

THE FOLLOWING PRESS RELEASE IS SFC APPROVED: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, today sent a letter to both FOX and Time Warner urging for a swift resolution to current negotiations in order to stop consumers, and football fans, from waking up without College Bowl games on New Year’s Day.  

“Fox and Time Warner need to strike a deal – millions of football fans are depending on it,” said Sen. Kerry.  “Having screens go dark because two parties couldn’t come together in time is no solution.  New Year’s Day and football are synonymous in households across the nation.  Private industry negotiations cannot disrupt a fundamental American tradition.”

The full text of the letter is below:

Mr. Chase Carey

President and Chief Operating Officer

News Corporation

1211 Avenue of Americas

New York, New York 10036

Mr. Glenn Britt

Chairman and CEO

Time Warner Cable

60 Columbus Circle

NY, NY 10023

Dear Sirs:

I am aware that FOX and Time Warner Cable have been involved for some time in negotiations regarding the terms of carriage for FOX-owned broadcast television stations, as well as FOX-owned cable channels. 

These are private negotiations, and I hope that the parties reach a mutually acceptable resolution before the existing agreement expires on December 31.  If you fail to do so, I suggest that FOX allow Time Warner Cable to continue transmitting programming through the College Bowl season either under current terms and conditions or under terms and conditions that will be retroactively applied once an agreement is reached, or under some third option.  I also suggest that both parties strongly consider entering arbitration rather than having consumers lose access to programming.

If I understand correctly, at midnight on December 31, 2009, FOX content may be removed from cable systems Time Warner Cable owns.  This means that, in January, millions of Time Warner Cable customers around the country could lose access to the Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl, as well as NFL playoff games.  Prior to the digital transition, many consumers were able to put up rabbit ear antennas to receive programming. However, digital receivers are more expensive and complex to use.  We do not want consumers waking up on the first day of the New Year wanting to watch football and instead finding that they have to take a trip to the electronics store to purchase a digital receiver in the hope that they receive a clear over the air signal.

As the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communication, Technology, and the Internet, I have sought to place the interests of consumers at the center of our work.  If both parties conclude that the best alternative to a negotiated agreement is to have screens go dark for consumers, then they will have neglected the core interests of the millions of households that subscribe to Time Warner Cable in affected markets.  As leaders of major companies that are FCC licensees and are obligated to serve the public interest, I hope and expect that you will resolve this matter consistent with those obligations.

Sincerely, 

John Kerry

God Bless you, John Kerry, for working on this issue so near and dear to the SFC faithful’s hearts during this holiday season.  We need more politicians to speak up and speak out, advocating for the sports fan. 

We emplore you to follow up Senator Kerry’s letter with your own using the addresses above.  Let’s put the pressure on the networks to give us our games.  Let’s start the new year off with a victory!