Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.

The BCS relies on a combination of polls and computer selection methods to determine relative team rankings, and to narrow the field to two teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game held after the other college bowl games. The American Football Coaches Association is contractually bound to vote the winner of this game as the BCS National Champion and the contract signed by each conference requires them to recognize the winner of the BCS National Championship game as the official and only Champion. The BCS was created to end split championships and for the Champion to win the title on the field between the two teams selected by the BCS. In that regard it has failed, as the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split championship.

The system also selects match-ups for the other prestigious BCS bowl games. The ten teams selected include the conference champion from each of the six Automatic Qualifying conferences plus four others. The BCS was created by formal agreement by those six conferences (the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10, and Southeastern conferences) and the three FBS independent schools, and has evolved to allow other conferences to participate to a lesser degree.

It has been in place since the 1998 season. Prior to its formation, the Associated Press’s number one and two teams met in bowl games only eight times in 56 seasons. In contrast, since the creation of the BCS, number one has played number two 12 years in a row by BCS measurements and nine times according to the AP Poll. Prior to the 2006 season eight teams competed in four BCS Bowls. The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance, in place from 1995–1997, which followed the Bowl Coalition, in place from 1992–1994.

On June 26, 2012, the Bowl Championship Series was replaced by a four-team playoff, effective for the 2014–15 season.

Read more about Bowl Championship Series:  History Leading To Creation of The BCS, Bowl Games, Rankings, History and Schedule, Future BCS Schedules, BCS Bowl Appearances and Wins By Team, BCS National Championship Game Appearances and Wins By Team, BCS Bowl Appearances and Wins By Conference, BCS National Championship Game Appearances By Conference, BCS Buster, Locations of All AQ Conference Teams

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