BCS conference
Encyclopedia
An Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ conference) is an athletic conference
in NCAA Division I FBS (highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States) whose champion receives an automatic berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series
bowl game
s. While the number of AQ conferences is variable and not permanently set, the BCS has always had six AQ conferences since its inception in 1998. AQ conferences are sometimes called BCS conferences but that usage is not technically correct according to the BCS. These conferences are often referred to as power conferences especially for sports other than football.
fans consider the term "BCS conference" to refer specifically to one of the six conferences whose champions receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games. After the two top teams in the BCS rankings are matched up in the BCS National Championship Game
, the other four bowls select other top teams. Each of the bowls has a historic link with one or more of the six BCS conferences with the exception of the Big East, and selects a team from each of these conferences if it is eligible for a BCS bowl and not playing in the national title game. The conferences included in this group, with their traditional bowl links, are:
Notre Dame
is an independent in football, but is a founding member of the BCS. Because of the "Notre Dame rule", it has guaranteed access to the BCS bowls when it meets certain defined performance criteria.
The BCS and non-BCS designators generally refer to college football programs, though they often are applied to all collegiate sports. Outside college football, a BCS conference may also be referred to as a "power conference", with others that compete in NCAA Division I called "mid-major
" conferences.
Of these teams, 116 are members of one of 11 conferences; the other four are "independent" schools that are not part of a conference.
The BCS system is broken up into two separate types of conferences: Automatic Qualifying (AQ) Conferences and Non-Automatic Qualifying (non-AQ) Conferences. The champions of the six AQ conferences receive automatic bids to BCS bowl games, regardless of their BCS ranking.
The other five conferences (listed below) are considered non-AQ conferences or "mid-major" conferences because they do not receive an annual automatic bid to a BCS bowl game. The highest ranking team of the non-AQ conferences will receive an AQ bid if they are ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS poll or ranked in the top 16 and higher than a champion of an AQ conference.
The conferences in this group are:
The three independents other than Notre Dame are Army
, BYU and Navy
, and all field non-AQ football teams.
Four "non-AQ" teams have appeared in the six following BCS games:
Of these appearances, all were via automatic qualifying bids, except the BSU participation in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl in which BSU was selected via at-large bid.
Note that Utah, Boise State, and TCU have multiple appearances. Utah became a member of the Pac-12 Conference in 2011, and TCU will join the Big 12 entering the 2012 season, thus becoming part of several schools in the BCS era to move from a non-AQ conference to an AQ conference (others being University of Louisville
, University of South Florida
, and University of Cincinnati
).
All FBS teams' results and rankings from the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 regular seasons will be used to determine whether a seventh conference earns automatic qualification for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 bowl games.
, since it reserves the most lucrative bowl contracts in the nation for a select group of teams based on seemingly arbitrary and discriminatory criteria. U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch
(R-Utah), has been particularly outspoken against the current system and has even called for a federal investigation into the system's legality.
Athletic conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...
in NCAA Division I FBS (highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States) whose champion receives an automatic berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
s. While the number of AQ conferences is variable and not permanently set, the BCS has always had six AQ conferences since its inception in 1998. AQ conferences are sometimes called BCS conferences but that usage is not technically correct according to the BCS. These conferences are often referred to as power conferences especially for sports other than football.
Popular usage
Most sports media and college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
fans consider the term "BCS conference" to refer specifically to one of the six conferences whose champions receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games. After the two top teams in the BCS rankings are matched up in the BCS National Championship Game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
, the other four bowls select other top teams. Each of the bowls has a historic link with one or more of the six BCS conferences with the exception of the Big East, and selects a team from each of these conferences if it is eligible for a BCS bowl and not playing in the national title game. The conferences included in this group, with their traditional bowl links, are:
- Atlantic Coast ConferenceAtlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
(Orange BowlOrange BowlThe Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...
) - Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
(Fiesta BowlFiesta BowlThe Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
) - Big East ConferenceBig East ConferenceThe Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
(not tied to any specific BCS bowl) - Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
(Rose Bowl) - Pacific-12 Conference (Rose Bowl)
- Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(Sugar BowlSugar BowlThe Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
)
Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
is an independent in football, but is a founding member of the BCS. Because of the "Notre Dame rule", it has guaranteed access to the BCS bowls when it meets certain defined performance criteria.
The BCS and non-BCS designators generally refer to college football programs, though they often are applied to all collegiate sports. Outside college football, a BCS conference may also be referred to as a "power conference", with others that compete in NCAA Division I called "mid-major
Mid-major
Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences...
" conferences.
Official usage
BCS officials consider all 120 members of Division I FBS to be a part of the BCS system, stating on its official website,Of these teams, 116 are members of one of 11 conferences; the other four are "independent" schools that are not part of a conference.
The BCS system is broken up into two separate types of conferences: Automatic Qualifying (AQ) Conferences and Non-Automatic Qualifying (non-AQ) Conferences. The champions of the six AQ conferences receive automatic bids to BCS bowl games, regardless of their BCS ranking.
The other five conferences (listed below) are considered non-AQ conferences or "mid-major" conferences because they do not receive an annual automatic bid to a BCS bowl game. The highest ranking team of the non-AQ conferences will receive an AQ bid if they are ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS poll or ranked in the top 16 and higher than a champion of an AQ conference.
The conferences in this group are:
- Conference USAConference USAConference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
- Mid-American ConferenceMid-American ConferenceThe Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
- Mountain West ConferenceMountain West ConferenceThe Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
- Sun Belt ConferenceSun Belt ConferenceThe Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
- Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic ConferenceThe Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
The three independents other than Notre Dame are Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
, BYU and Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
, and all field non-AQ football teams.
Four "non-AQ" teams have appeared in the six following BCS games:
- 2005 Fiesta Bowl2005 Fiesta BowlThe 2005 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2005, was the 34th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played between Utah and Pittsburgh, in front of 73,519 fans. It is notable for being the first BCS game to feature a team from a non-BCS conference, and the only BCS bowl to feature a...
: Utah2004 Utah Utes football teamThe 2004 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2004–2005. This team was the original 'BCS Buster', meaning, this was the first time that a team from a non-BCS conference was invited to play in one of the BCS bowl games. The team, coached by 2nd...
(MWC) defeated Pittsburgh2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football teamThe 2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2004 college football season in which they won a share of The Big East Conference Championship and were awarded with a BCS berth to the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.- Schedule :...
(Big East) 35–7, - 2007 Fiesta Bowl2007 Fiesta BowlThe 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
: Boise State2006 Boise State Broncos football teamThe 2006 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2006 college football season. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference championship with an undefeated 12–0 regular-season record , their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years...
(WAC) defeated Oklahoma2006 Oklahoma Sooners football teamThe 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship...
(Big XII) 43–42 in overtime, - 2008 Sugar Bowl2008 Sugar BowlThe 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl Game was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the Bowl Championship Series for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 74th Sugar Bowl...
: Hawaii2007 Hawaii Warriors football teamThe 2007 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the 2007 NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football season....
, WAC lost to Georgia2007 Georgia Bulldogs football teamThe 2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed on behalf of the University of Georgia in American football against teams from other colleges and universities. The Bulldogs tied for first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference but lost a tie-breaker with the University of...
(SEC) 41–10, - 2009 Sugar Bowl2009 Sugar BowlThe 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
: Utah2008 Utah Utes football teamThe 2008 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2008–2009. The team, coached by 4th year head football coach Kyle Whittingham, plays its home games in Rice–Eccles Stadium...
(MWC) defeated Alabama2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football teamThe 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 17th within the SEC Western Division...
(SEC) 31–17, - 2010 Fiesta Bowl2010 Fiesta BowlThe 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the #4 TCU Horned Frogs, champions of the Mountain West Conference, and the #6 Boise State Broncos, champions of the Western Athletic Conference. The game was played Monday, January 4, 2010, at University of...
: Boise State2009 Boise State Broncos football teamThe 2009 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2009 college football season. The Broncos played their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the "smurf-turf"...
(WAC) defeated TCU2009 TCU Horned Frogs football teamThe 2009 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University in the 2009 college football season. The team was coached by Gary Patterson. The Frogs played their home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs finished the season...
(MWC) 17–10 - 2011 Rose Bowl2011 Rose BowlThe 2011 Rose Bowl was the 97th edition of the annual bowl game played on January 1, 2011, as part of the 2010 college football season. Played in Pasadena, California, the TCU Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference defeated the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference. The Pasadena...
, TCU (MWC) defeated Wisconsin2010 Wisconsin Badgers football teamThe 2010 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers, led by fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema, were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium...
(Big Ten) 21–19.
Of these appearances, all were via automatic qualifying bids, except the BSU participation in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl in which BSU was selected via at-large bid.
Note that Utah, Boise State, and TCU have multiple appearances. Utah became a member of the Pac-12 Conference in 2011, and TCU will join the Big 12 entering the 2012 season, thus becoming part of several schools in the BCS era to move from a non-AQ conference to an AQ conference (others being University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
, University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
, and University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
).
All FBS teams' results and rankings from the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 regular seasons will be used to determine whether a seventh conference earns automatic qualification for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 bowl games.
Controversy
Critics of the BCS automatic-qualifier designation claim the system discriminates against non-AQ teams by depriving these teams of the large BCS bowl game monetary payouts. These payouts are distributed equally among all BCS conference member teams, regardless of whether they appear in a BCS bowl and regardless of their performance on the playing field. In this light, some critics have claimed the BCS system operates in violation of antitrust lawCompetition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
, since it reserves the most lucrative bowl contracts in the nation for a select group of teams based on seemingly arbitrary and discriminatory criteria. U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
(R-Utah), has been particularly outspoken against the current system and has even called for a federal investigation into the system's legality.