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Comments December 12, 2003 I loved the article at http://coalition.tulane.edu/testimony.shtml and think it should be a must read for every college football fan. I am an Alabama fan, therefore my team gets some of the lions share of the BCS money (when we are not on probation.) I however do not think the current system is fair and I think it is time for the college football fans, media, congress, everyone involved start nudging all College presidents into doing what is right. A playoff system is the only fair way to decide a National Champion in Division 1 Football. ***** I know that you are in the process of helping to decide the future of the college football bowl system. I am writing to let you know about a new solution to the BCS issue. What could be better is going back to our traditional bowl games, filling the stadiums with loyal fans, and then picking the two best teams from these traditional bowls using the two "people polls) and having a national playoff between the two teams. This restores the traditional bowls to the former stature and not just exhibition games with little or no impact on the championship picture. It also makes some additional bucks with the Championship game. The traditional bowls would take the conference champs (adding one bowl for the Mtn West, WAC and MAC) so they would have the ability to gain entry. Full stadiums, plenty of money for the schools, one playoff of the two best teams as voted by the two polls, and the computers are taken out of the picture. This does not appear to be overly difficult. The current system has got to go... USC was robbed and so has the football fan. PS: this solves the problem of a team not winning their conference championship attending the big game too... December 10, 2003 I have read where the president of your university is trying to reform college athletics in some fashion. To begin the recent debacle of the BCS would be a great place to start. A couple of years ago I came up with a plan to have a national champion in football determined on the field, preserve the existing bowl games, and make all of the NCAA Division 1 schools some money (not just the rich). I sent this to the NCAA last year and their response was that the college presidents have control of this, not the NCAA. Please forward the attached plan to Mr. Scott Cowen and best of luck in your reform efforts. ***** I am a long time contributor to my schools athletic department and I know am not alone in my disgust that the NCAA has relegated every non-BCS school to a fruitless season. That school has a long history of successful football, including a National Championship. Today, I wonder why contribute? Why even play? What is the point in providing emotional and financial support to a program when, by your rule, it has absolutely ZERO possibility to compete for a national championship? The best option, fiscally, traditionally and equitably I have seen to resolve the numerous issues facing college football is at http://www.bcssolution.com . Here lies a solution that enables all schools to have the opportunity to play for the ultimate prize, solidifies and strengthens the major bowls and allows for an undisputed champion. Please, fix the problem now, while the interest and support is strong. ***** I know that you are in the process of helping to decide the future of the college football bowl system. I am writing to inform you I think the BCS works but may need minor adjustments. December 8, 2003 Dear BCS Committee member, I know that you are currently in the process of helping to decide the future of the college football bowl system. Something has to be done to avoid desecrating college football any more. The bowl system that is in place does not make sense. I believe the BCS system should be used to determine the top 8 or 4 teams. From there it should be settled on the field. A current espn poll has 90% of voters saying that the BCS got it wrong. This can go on no longer. It is unfair to the players, the schools, and all college football fans. Stop being so greedy and give the fans what they really want. ***** First off, I want to thank you for your cooperation in a system that attempts to "fix" one of America's favorite sports and traditions; college football. However, after the announcement of the national championship game for the 2003 Division 1-A, changes need to be made. Please consider a playoff, until there is a playoff, every year there will be a controversy similar to this, and some group of coaches and kids will be jilted. All the other divisions of football have football, and the student athletes thrive. Please for the love of our sport and for the student athletes, consider this. ***** The last time something like this happened was when Michigan and Nebraska had to split a National Championship, we as fans were told it would not happen again with the BCS is place - obviously the holes in he BCS have been found and nothing has changed - to have the No. 2 and No. 3 teams playing in the NC game is ridiculous and I for one won't watch it - instead I'll watch if the No. 1 team - USC can remain in first place - no I'm not a USC fan - I do however watch the NC each year and for me that will be it - just glad to see Michigan in it too - I am a Michigan fan. I like what I have read about this site's plan - it's not perfect, but it fills in some holes that the BCS has and puts the traditional bowls back to where they were when I was growing up - something exciting to watch on Jan. 1st - no your ratings haven't dropped yet during this time of the BCS but rest assured they will when the new generation of fans start controlling the remotes and will only watch "the bowl games that matter" - as this generation is know to do now. I hope you take this plan into consideration - I enjoy College Football and have since I was just a kid - I hate win it gets a black eye - right now it's got two. ***** It really is a disgrace that the #1 team in the country will be left out of the BCS National Title game. All I hope for at this point is that USC kicks the crap out of Michigan so that we have a split National Championship. The BCS Committee has to be the dumbest group of "smart people" on the planet. How hard is it to see that their level of football needs a playoff system? Every other system of football has one and it does seem to work. I compare it to coming into a new company and asking, "Why do we do it this way?" And the only response you get is, "because it's always been done this way!" The bowl system is archaic and needs to be reformed. You can go to bcssolution.com and e-mail all of the BCS Committee members and tell them how much you don't like the current system. I think we also need to make sure they understand that fans don't want to see the BCS "tweaked" in any way. Get rid of it, sit down at a table and don't leave until they have found a suitable way to have a 16-team playoff system in place. The major problem in creating a playoff is that the NCAA is NOT involved in the Bowl System. All of the Bowls are corporations that have existed for many years and THEY are the ones that stand to lose money if there are no longer any bowls. I don't care if they lose money! I'm sure none of the coaches or players care if the bowls lose money either. They want to earn the national championship on the field! ***** I will not go into detail because you will probably delet this anyway, but think of how much money and hype a playoff system would make. ***** Look at this. It will work. This year we have a team (OU) which could not even win it's own conference championship, playing for the national championship, while USC plays in the "nothing" bowl . This is a travesty...and, just for the record, I'm a football fan, not a USC fan. Actually I hold season's tickets to FSU and find the fact that they have to play Miami (AGAIN!) an additional travesty. You folks need to address this issue...NOW!!! ***** It is your turn at football history. What will history say about you? Will the fans get what they deserve? Fix it! Playoff game! ***** This situation is the worst case scenario! This is awful. Oklahoma has no right to be playing in New Orleans. They are not even a conference champion! Congratulations to the Trojans. I hope they make it through the Rose Bowl and give the country a split championship. Then and maybe only then wil you see that the playoff system (a-la Divs I-AA, II, III) is the way to go. It's a shame money is getting in the way of a national championship game that the fans truly want. ***** Only in the BCS can a team lose its conference championship [Oklahoma, 2003], or not qualify to play for one [Nebraska, 2001], and still get a free pass to the "national championship game." Imagine a scenario in the NFL where one team has the best record during the season, loses a playoff game, and gets a free pass to the Super Bowl because of their season record. Only in the BCS can math wizards, not football players, determine who gets to play for the "national championship." And that's to say nothing of why, only in the BCS, can qualifying for a "national championship game" favor certain conferences at the expense of others in the same NCAA division. BCS=Banishing Common Sense, or Bringing Common Sense? Hopefully the latter, if the decisionmakers come to their senses and authorize the playoff system that millions of fans have asked for over 1/3 of a century. ***** I appreciate your hard work and diligence regarding the current BCS solution. I would like to make a suggestion that I feel would have prevented the debate that is currently being had. There shall be an addition of 5 points to any team that doesn't win their division, therefore providing a separation from conference champs and all others. For those independents, well I think they should all be in a conference. There is no way that a team that doesn't win their own conference should be allowed to play for the national title. I understand that short of a true playoff system, there will never be an absolute fix to this system but I appreciate the time and efforts that you are putting into this solution. December 3, 2003 My problem with the "Plan" is that taking this year for example.........if LSU/USC/OU won on New Year's day......how has this new plan helped at all....we would be back to square 1 with a computer picking instead of settling it on the field. Instead of those 10 bowl games......how about 8 then the 4 winners face off the next week on MLK day....one East Coast one West Coast game, then a championship game the following week. Adds one week to your "plan" and takes the computers out of the equation.....after all, this is what we are all dissatisfied with, the fact that a computer settles it instead of play. Use your plan, but seeded instead of pairing conferences.......because the two best teams in the nation can be from the same conference and since they don't play twice a year home field advantage can cause a team to have a loss where they would actually been favored on a neutral field. Besides we have already tossed the traditional conference matchups out the window....and I don't think any of us miss the bad matchups created. These are my suggestions....I appreciate the floor to voice my opinion.....I don't think your plan quite solves the problem but it is definitely a step in the right direction. December 2, 2003 Something has to be done. Let's have a playoff of sorts as stated on www.bcssolution.com. Whatever the case please make every effort to add suspense to college football in any way possible. |