The 2011-2012 football season is coming down to the final stretch. With week ten upon us, Louisiana State, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State, and Houston remain as the only undefeated teams in the nation. As the season winds down, the national debate will soon begin as to which of these teams, if they remain undefeated, will make it to the Bowl Champion Series (BCS) National Championship Game.

Unfortunately, rather than letting the teams battle for the title in a playoff system, a computer is used as the ultimate decision maker. The BCS is a computer formula that ranks teams based on record, conference, strength of schedule, and other miscellaneous stats. The top two teams in the BCS standings at the end of the season are awarded the opportunity to play for the national championship. In some cases, this system is fine because only one or two teams make it through the season without a defeat. But most seasons, there are numerous undefeated and one loss teams who get denied a shot at the title.

But why does college football have to end its season in such an unorthodox manner? How come other collegiate sports are able to have a playoff postseason system, but college football has to use a computer to determine who plays for the title? Why does a team that wins all of their games not have a chance to win a championship? Some people say because of semester exams. I looked at three schools, and each of them held their exams during the week of December 12th- December 16th. Last season, the regular season ended for most teams on December 4th. The NCAA can issue a nationwide off-week during finals and the week after, begin the bowl season and tournament.

The next big issue about the BCS is the economical aspect for the schools. I am not an economist, but I think this can be solved as well. The NCAA loves bowl games because all of these bowl games have a sponsor. These sponsors generate money for the schools that participate in the bowl games. The NCAA does not want to give up the BCS because it provides money, but with my solution, the NCAA can keep their sponsors and enhance their system at the same time.

My solution limits the effect the BCS system has on college football. The BCS should be used to rank the top eight teams in the nation. These eight teams play in a single elimination tournament that starts on the first Saturday after finals week. Meanwhile, the teams outside of this top eight will play in bowl games with the same sponsors. The tournament games would be sponsored by the companies that sponsor the BCS bowl games (Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, and Rose Bowls), therefore the sponsors are happy, and the schools are getting their money.

This solution pleases all sides of the issue. The BCS system can stay, but will give more teams a chance to compete for the title. The schools are happy because they will still make money based off sponsorships. The sponsors are happy because they will be able to still have their brand on bowl games. The athletes will be able to take their final exams, and the coaches will not have to worry about a month long layoff between regular season and bowl games. In a time where the NCAA is under scrutiny for program violations and illegal benefits from agencies, why shouldn’t the NCAA try something to revamp one of the most criticized systems in sports?