AP removes its poll from BCS ratings

NEW YORK -- It looks as if the Bowl Championship Series is headed for another major overhaul.

The Associated Press has told the BCS to stop using its college football poll to determine which teams play for the national title and in the most prestigious bowl games.

Since the BCS was implemented in 1998 by officials from the Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-10, Southeastern Conference and Notre Dame, the formula it uses to rank teams has been tweaked almost every year. But the AP poll and the coaches poll have always been an integral part.

The AP said such use was never sanctioned and had reached the point where it threatened to undermine the independence and integrity of the poll.

The AP sent BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg a cease-and-desist letter, dated Dec. 21, stating that use of the poll is unlawful and harms the AP's reputation.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/8023798

At least they have their priorities straight.

I wonder how many letters it would take to get them to cover the ACLU/Bush/Torture memos.

Whatever championship system that Division I uses will be a fraud.

I still have a strong opinion against your desire to make the season unimportant. You'll end-up with games, like at the small college where I worked that had very few people attend and most of the better players didn't even play, just because that regular season game didn't matter wrt the playoffs. The way it is now, every game matters, and the team that worked hard and played well all year is rewarded. Again, I hate football and the people that watch that crap, but I hate the idea worse that the entire season should be meaningless.

And name another sport, college or professional, that decides their champion via popularity contest rather than on the field.

The way it is now, every game matters, and the team that worked hard and played well all year is rewarded.

The way it is now, the two teams that a convoluted computer formula says are the best are rewarded.

There are 5 undefeated teams in Division IA this season: USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, Utah, and Boise State, along with the very real possibility that the season will end with more than 1 undefeated team.

If there is no playoff, and multiple undefeated teams, the only reason for picking one undefeated over another is style, which basically turns college football into gridiron figure skating, where winning pretty counts for more than just winning.

I still think the teams that work hard and play well all year would be rewarded. Most playoff proposals either have 8 teams getting in at most, or a plus 1 system (top 2 after the bowl games play each other). There would also likely be a minimum performance clause in place of the current automatic bid system. I find the current system even more unfair in that (relatively) mediocre teams like Pitt and to a lesser extent Michigan get in, while teams like Cal, Louisville, LSU, and UGA are left out. Auburn getting left out after running the table in the hardest conference is a story of its own. A properly implemented playoff would maintain the importance of the season, while still keeping things fair.

...leave it as it is. I applaud the college presidents for not knuckling under to the idiot sports media that is demanding a playoff.

The big teams almost never play anyone tough, even in confernece, and we end up with five unbeaten teams with no chance to be rewarded for their efforts.

The way it is, a team has to be undefeated to have even a remote chance at the title, which is the way it ought to be. The only playoff needed is 1 vs. 2, which we have.

The system does work well if you have a clearcut #1 and #2, like tOSU-Miami in 2002. However, if there are 3 or more teams with one loss or undefeated, it is absolutely useless. Nebraska had no business being there after getting thumped by CU in 2001, nor did OU last year after the KSU game. Both USC and OU are deserving this year and I have nothing against either, but at the same time Auburn is getting the shaft. I don't think we need a 64 team playoff like basketball, but an 8 team or plus-1 system would be great. The season would still mean something, as only a few teams would make it (unlike BB, where you can mess up the whole season but get bailed out by the conference tournament).

would be the best thing for college football. It won't make the regular season worthless. Right now, a small school couldn't make the BCS finals if it had a roster of the all-time greatest college players ever.

I'm all for playoffs... there's a reason every other sport has them.

what other sport would let the sportwriters decide who the champion is?

God, we are stuck with a system that depends on what other people think of how teams play rather than the final score being the ultimate aribter of who is better.

In its letter, the AP said some of its poll voters had indicated they might no longer participate because of concerns over having their reporters be so closely involved in the process of determining which teams play where.

They don't want to influence the season, but they do want to name a national champion.

They want their poll to be the most important, that's what this is all about, let no one kid themselves.

*deleted*

I would certainly hope that this is the end of the BCS

The only real reason any conference is still in it is for the money.

But hopefully, this'll start something. It'd be even better if the AP withheld its poll until midway through the season.

:evilgrin: