The Bowl Championship Series

Starting in 1998, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has determined the Division I-A National Champion in football. A year ago, Miami captured the 2001 national title, defeating Nebraska 37-14 in the Rose Bowl. In the BCS's first season in 1998, Tennessee defeated Florida State, 23-16, in the Fiesta Bowl to claim the national title. A year later, it was Florida State's turn as the Seminoles topped Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl for their second national title in seven years. Oklahoma claimed the 2000 national championship defeating Florida State 13-2 in the FedEx Orange Bowl. The BCS, which runs through the 2005 regular season and 2006 bowl season, consists of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Conferences with automatic berths include the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conferences.

The BCS also notes the importance of regional consideration regarding team selection. Specifically, as participating members of the BCS, the four BCS Bowls will host the following conference champions in the years the national championship game is not played at their site. Regional consideration tie-ins include the ACC or Big East champion in the Orange Bowl, the SEC champion in the Sugar Bowl, the Big Ten and the Pac-10 champion in the Rose Bowl and the Big 12 champion in the Fiesta Bowl.

Should a BCS Bowl's regional tie-in champion be ranked number one or two in the final BCS standings, when such bowl is not hosting the national championship game, the number one or two-ranked team shall move to the national championship game and the Bowl shall select a replacement team from the BCS pool of eligible teams. The pool will consist of any Division IA team that is ranked among the Top 12 in the final BCS standings and has achieved nine wins during the regular season excluding NCAA-exempted contests.

Through a conference revenue sharing plan, the BCS group will distribute over $40 million to non-participating BCS institutions during its 8-year history. Those monies go to Division IA and IAA conferences in support of the game of college football. Additionally, the BCS distributes $100,000 per year to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for calculating and administering the BCS Standings.

This coming season, BCS participants will receive between $13.67-16.56 million depending on the conference affiliation of the at-large participants. Should the at-large participants come from outside the original BCS conferences - ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 or SEC - those participants will receive $13.67 million. If one or both at-large selections come from within the original BCS group, the first conference participant shall receive $13.67 million and the second participant from that same conference shall receive a minimum of 4.5 million. The remaining dollars (the difference between $13.67 million and $4.5 million) will be split among the originating BCS conferences that have just one participant.

BCS Title Game Results
1998 Season
Tennessee d. Florida State 23-16Fiesta Bowl

1999 Season
Florida State d. Virginia Tech 46-29Sugar Bowl

2000 Season
Oklahoma d. Florida State 13-2Orange Bowl

2001 Season
Miami d. Nebraska 37-14Rose Bowl

Future BCS Schedule
2002 Season
January 1, 2003 (5 p.m.)Rose Bowl
January 1, 2003 (8:30 p.m.)Sugar Bowl
January 2, 2003 (8 p.m.)Orange Bowl
January 3, 2003 (8 p.m.)Fiesta Bowl (Title Game)

2003 SeasonSugar Bowl (Title Game)
2004 SeasonOrange Bowl (Title Game)
2005 SeasonRose Bowl (Title Game)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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