How the BCS Can Successfully Install a College Football Tournament

One of the most controversial topics of today's college football era is the lack of a tournament to close out the season and crown a champion.  Instead we are subjected to several, mostly meaningless bowl games and one championship game that doesn't for sure display the two best teams in the country.

We determine whom will play in these games largely based on where they place in their respective conferences and how they are ranked nationally in comparison to other teams.  These rankings are judged by both humans and computers using formulas and algorithms that stump a typical smart guy.

Most of us don't attempt to understand, we just go with the flow and hope that the magical formula points are team in the upward direction.  Why aren't we raising more questions and demanding that the current BCS be dissolved or considered for reformat?  Even your traditionalist agrees that a championship tournament is much needed in college football.

I have come up with a formula that I believe would work for both the BCS and the fans.  This formula blends the current system—as much as I hate it—with a new tournament format that is a no-brainer and win-win for both supporters and opponents of the idea.

How Big Is the Tournament?

How big is the perfect college football tournament?  Four?  Eight?  The answer to this question is twelve.  Twelve teams make the NFL playoffs, so obviously it's a number that works. 

Here is how it plays out: Twelve teams make the tournament, four receive a bye for the first round.  Seeds 5-12 play on round 1 with seeds 5-8 hosting the games at their home stadium.

First round would look something like this:

Seed 12 @ Seed 5

Seed 9 @ Seed 8

Seed 10 @ Seed 7

Seed 11 @ Seed 6

For round two, the winners of round 1 would advance to play those teams on bye during week 1.  Just like the NFL, the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed—remaining winning teams below are the one's with asterisk.

Seed 12 @ Seed 5*	Seed 11 @ Seed 1
Seed 9* @ Seed 8	Seed 5 @ Seed 4
Seed 10 @ Seed 7*	Seed 7 @ Seed 3
Seed 11* @ Seed 6	Seed 9 @ Seed 2

The remainder of the tournament would fill out as a normal bracket proceeding on how they are slotted in round two.  The third round would be coined as the Final Four, or perhaps something similar.  Of course, the winner of those games determines the teams for the National Championship game.

Seed 12 @ Seed 5*	Seed 11 @ Seed 1*
Seed 9* @ Seed 8	Seed 5* @ Seed 4	Seed 5 @ Seed 1*
Seed 10 @ Seed 7*	Seed 7* @ Seed 3	Seed 7* @ Seed 2
Seed 11* @ Seed 6	Seed 9 @ Seed 2*

National Championship Game: Seed 7 @ Seed 1 

Who Gets in the Tournament?

Even more important than how big the tournament is who gets in?  Once again in order for the tournament to have a remote possibility of happening we must make the masses happy.  In order to accomplish this we must visit two methods of picking the teams to play in this postseason showdown.

First we must include the conference champions of each automatic qualifying conference.  The Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, Big East, SEC and ACC should all be represented by their best.

The tournament should also be filled with at-large teams based on the BCS rankings.  Doing this ensures that those that support the BCS system would still be able to keep it, while tournament supporters would benefit from... well finally get their tournament.

How Do You Seed the Tournament?

Seeding the tournament properly is important.  Seeds 1-6 would be populated with the top 6 teams in the final BCS rankings. These spots are guaranteed. Spots 7-12 are slotted first with champions of automatic-qualifying conferences not already in the Top 6 in an order determined by BCS rankings. Any spots not occupied by conference champions would be surrendered to those ranked 7th and down until filled.

Sounds complicated, so let me write it out: (This example assumes only three conference champions aren't rated in the Top 6 in the BCS in the final standings.)

1. #1 in BCS Rankings
2. #2 in BCS Rankings
3. #3 in BCS Rankings
4. #4 in BCS Rankings
5. #5 in BCS Rankings
6. #6 in BCS Rankings
7. Highest ranked conference champion not in Top 6
8. Next-highest ranked conference champion not in Top 6
9. Lowest ranked conference champion not in Top 6 
10. #7 in BCS Rankings
11. #8 in BCS Rankings
12. #9 in BCS Rankings

How Do You Retain the BCS Bowl Games?

So how do you retain the rich and historic tradition of the BCS bowl games while implementing a much needed post-season tournament?  The easy answer to this is to integrate the bowl games into the tournament.

There are four BCS bowl games currently being played: Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.  These bowl games would be well-placed in the second round of the tournament, hosted by the four best teams in the country, or so the BCS rankings say.  These top four teams will play the survivors of the first round of the tournament between seeds 5-12.

The winners of the second round matchups would be celebrated as the bowl champions they are, and as part of their reward they get to play in the Final Four for a shot at the National Championship.

What About the Teams That Do Not Qualify for the Tournament?

Nobody likes to be left out.  That includes the dozens of teams that close out the year with a .500 record or better and qualify for a non-BCS bowl game.  Although I personally find these games ridiculous, remember we are trying to keep all parties happy because that is the only way this tournament will happen.

Those teams not given an opportunity in the big tournament could still very well play in their own bowl games just as they currently do.  Perhaps even those teams that lost in the first round of the tournament could slot themselves in a bowl game to close out the year.

How Do You Handle Student Athlete Schedules?

According to last year's bowl game schedule, games started on December 18th and ended with the National Championship game on January 10th.  That totals 24 days of games.

Since tournament games would be hosted by the higher seeded team the travel requirements for postseason games would not be as challenging, especially for the better teams. 

Round 1 of the tournament would be hosted the weekend before Christmas at the beginning of many student's Christmas break.  Round 2 is held during the week and weekend of Christmas giving fans something more to watch than the NBA—and well anything to watch during an NBA lockout if it continues until then.  Remember Round 2 would be your BCS Bowl games.

The Final Four is hosted during the New Year's week/weekend, followed by the National Championship game held a week to a week and a half after that.

Tournament teams would have to play possibly four games during that span of a month instead of one, but that team would not only play the first round of the tournament, but then survive to the national title game.  Similar to the pros, you have to work harder to gain the glory.

What Would the NCAA Tournament Look Like If the Season Ended Today

This image demonstrates what the NCAA College Football Tournament would look like if the season were to end today.  Notice that the Top 6 seeds are determined by the BCS rankings.  Seeds 7, 8, and 9 are given to Clemson, Penn State, and Cincinnati whom are currently leading their conference standings and not ranked in the top 6. 

The rest of the tournament is determined by BCS rankings after the Top 6.  I realize Cincy is a reach, but I picked the teams who were statistically on top of their conference as of now.

Click here to see a larger version of the bracket.

Of course the important topic is how the tournament works, not the teams I picked to advance to the end.

The bracket shows #6 OU, #8 Penn State, #10 Arkansas, and #12 South Carolina winning in the first round.  The second round features wins by #1 LSU, #2 Alabama, #3 Oklahoma State, and #6 Oklahoma.  This leads to a National Championship showdown between #1 LSU and #3 Oklahoma State.

Trying to Find a Flaw in the System

By no means do I believe that my system is without flaw, but I do believe that it is a healthy mix of what the BCS traditionalist wish to keep and what us college football fans see as a dream scenario for the sport we love so much.

I couldn't imagine as a competitive college football player that you wouldn't want to play a few more games in order to have the opportunity to defeat some of the best in the country.

What do you think?  Do you have a system that is better than mine?  Is mine on the right track?

What will it take for those of us that are tournament supporters to let our voices be heard?  We want a college football tournament!