Past BCS Championship Games
1998 Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
1999 Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
2000 Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
2001 Miami (Fla.) 37, Nebraska 14
2002 Ohio State 31, Miami (Fla.) 24 (2 OT)
2003 LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 (USC was voted #1 by the AP after a 28-14 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl)
2004 USC 55, Oklahoma 19
2005 Texas 41, USC 38
2006 Florida 41, Ohio State 14
2007 LSU 38, Ohio State 24
2008 Florida 24, Oklahoma 14

Pre-BCS Split "Mythical" Titles
1954 Ohio State (AP), UCLA (UPI Coaches Poll)
1957 Auburn (AP), Ohio State (UPI Coaches Poll)
1965 Alabama (AP), Michigan State (UPI Coaches Poll)
1970 Nebraska (AP), Texas (UPI Coaches Poll)
1973 Notre Dame (AP), Alabama (UPI Coaches Poll)
1974 Oklahoma (AP), Southern California (UPI Coaches Poll)
1978 Alabama (AP), Southern California (UPI Coaches Poll)
1990 Colorado (AP), Georgia Tech (UPI Coaches Poll)
1991 Miami, Fla. (AP), Washington (USA Today/CNN Coaches Poll)
1994 Nebraska (AP, USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll)
1997 Michigan (AP), Nebraska (USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll)
NOTE: In 1994, the AP and Coaches Poll each voted Nebraska as the National Champion but the Congrove Computer Rankings awarded the title to a similarly undefeated Penn State team.

Compilation of Standings
The BCS Standings are compiled by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

This year, the BCS Standings will once again include three components: USA Today Coaches Poll, Harris Interactive College Football Poll and an average of six computer rankings. Each component will count one-third of a team's overall BCS score in the BCS Standings.

The statistical rating system used to determine the teams that will participate in the championship game of the Bowl Championship Series consists of three components and each will count as 1/3rd of the final BCS formula - subjective polls of Harris Interactive (replaces AP) and coaches (USA Today) and six computer rankings.

The first BCS Rankings for 2009 will be released October 18, then weekly through December 6.

A breakdown of the components:

I. Harris Interactive Poll (1/3rd)
Replaces the AP Poll. The first poll will be released September 27, then weekly through December 6. A team's score in the Harris poll will be divided by 2,850, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 114 voting members rank the same team as Number 1. (Example: 2,850 / 2,850 = 1.0. If a team receives a total of 114 voting points, an average of 25th place, their BCS quotient of this component would be .04. (1.0 / 25

II. Coaches Poll (1/3rd)
A team's score in the USA Today poll will be divided by 1,500, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 60 voting members rank the same team as Number 1. (Example: 1,500 / 1,500 = 1.0. If a team receives a total of 60 voting points, an average of 25th place, their BCS quotient of this component would be .04. (1.0 / 25 = 0.04.)

(Better understanding the polls: In both human polls, voting members fill out their own top 25 rankings ballot. Each team receives 1-25 points in reverse order of the way they are ranked. The 25th place team on each ballot receives 1 point, 24th place gets 2 points, 23rd receives 3 points... first place receives 25 points.

In the Harris Interactive College Football Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, a team will be evaluated on the number of voting points it receives in each poll. The number of actual voters, which can vary and has varied in the past, is figured into the computation on a weekly basis in stating each team's percentage of a possible perfect score.

III. Computer rankings (1/3rd)
Six computer ranking systems will participate. The highest and lowest rating of each team will be thrown out and the remaining four will be averaged. The current participating computer rankings are:

Peter Wolfe
Wes Colley
Sagarin
Seattle Times
Richard Billingsley
Kenneth Massey

Simplifying the formula
A = Harris Poll
B = Coaches Poll
C = Throw out the high and low of the six computer rankings for each team. Add the remaining four. Divide that total by four.
Result: A+B+C = Total Score

BCS News Release On "Future Structure"
The Bowl Championship Series will move to ESPN beginning with the 2011 games. Under a new four-year contract between ESPN and the BCS, the cable network will broadcast the Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls from 2011-2014, in addition to the BCS national championship game. The BCS's current contract with FOX Sports, which began in 2007, included the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, as well as the BCS Championship game when it wasn't hosted by the Rose Bowl which was under contract to ABC. ABC will telecast the 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2010 BCS Championship game which will also be played at the historic stadium in Pasadena.

The BCS began using a "double hosting" format with the games played after the 2006 regular season. Under this model there are five (5) BCS games annually, including the National Championship game. The four BCS bowl games (Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, Rose) will be held annually, in addition to a National Championship game that will rotate among those four bowl sites each year. Once every four years, one of the aforementioned bowls will host two BCS games: its traditional bowl game and the National Championship game.

Under the double hosting format, the champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences will continue to play annually in one of the BCS bowls. In addition, one conference champion from among Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences will automatically qualify to play in a BCS bowl if it is: (1) ranked among the top 12 teams in the final BCS Standings; or (2) ranked among the top 16 teams in the final BCS Standings and ranked higher than the champion of one of the conferences whose champion has an annual automatic berth in a BCS bowl.

Under the new BCS arrangement Notre Dame will be guaranteed one of the at-large slots in a BCS bowl if it is ranked No. 8 or better in the final BCS Standings. It is also guaranteed annual payment for its participation in the BCS. In those seasons in which the Irish play in a BCS game, the school will receive $4.5 million (an amount equivalent that received by a conference that places a second team in a BCS bowl). In those seasons in which Notre Dame does not play in a BCS game, it is projected to be paid $1.3 million for its participation in the BCS arrangement.

No more than two teams from the same conference may play in the BCS bowls in any particular year.

Payments to those conferences whose champions have an annual automatic berth in a BCS bowl game increased from approximately $17 million following the 2006 regular season to $18.5 million for the BCS bowl games played following the 2009 regular season. Any conference placing a second team in one of the BCS bowls received a payment of $4.5 million for such team.

How does the "double-hosting" format work? How will the new BCS National Championship Game work?
Under the "double-hosting" format, the BCS National Championship is played one week after the last major bowl game, and held in the same host city.  There will be no "play-in" games. The BCS standings will determine the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, the same it has been since the BCS began in 1998.

The four BCS bowls and the new championship game expand the number of slots from eight to 10, creating more accessibility. How will this work?
With this format, the champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences will continue to play annually in one of the BCS bowls through the post-season following the regular season. In addition, one conference champion from among Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences will automatically qualify to play in a BCS bowl if it is:

(1) ranked among the top 12 teams in the final BCS standings; or

(2) ranked among the top 16 teams in the final BCS standings and ranked higher than the champion of one of the conferences whose champion has an annual automatic berth in a BCS bowl.

Under the new BCS arrangement Notre Dame will be guaranteed one of the at-large slots in a BCS bowl if it is ranked No. 8 or better in the final BCS standings. It is also guaranteed annual payment for its participation in the BCS. In those seasons in which the Irish play in a BCS bowl game, the school will receive $4.5 million (an amount equivalent to that received by a conference that places a second team in a BCS bowl). In those seasons in which Notre Dame does not play in a BCS bowl game, it is projected to be paid $1.3 million for its participation in the BCS arrangement.

As in the current BCS arrangement, no more than two teams from the same conference may play in the BCS bowls in any particular season.

What are the future dates for the BCS National Championship Game and the four BCS bowls?
Following the 2010 Regular Season
Jan. 1, 2010 - Sugar Bowl
Jan. 1, 2010 - Rose Bowl
Jan. 4, 2010 - Fiesta Bowl
Jan. 5, 2010 - Orange Bowl
Jan. 7, 2010 - BCS National Championship Game (Pasadena)

2011 - BCS National Championship Game (Glendale, AZ)
2012 - BCS National Championship Game (New Orleans)
2013 - BCS National Championship Game (Miami)
2014 - BCS National Championship Game (Pasadena)

The BCS is...

• The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a five-game arrangement for post-season college football that is designed to match the two top-rated teams in a national championship game and to create exciting and competitive matchups between eight other highly regarded teams in four other games.
• The bowl games participating are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship Game which will be played each year at one of the bowl sites.
• The BCS is managed by the commissioners of the 11 NCAA Division I-A conferences, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame, and representatives of the bowl organizations. The conferences are Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Pacific 10, Southeastern and Western Athletic.
• The conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletics director make decisions regarding all BCS issues, in consultation with an athletics directors advisory group and subject to the approval of a presidential oversight committee whose members represent all 117 Division 1-A programs.
• The five BCS games are part of the overall bowl structure. All bowl games provide meaningful season-ending opportunities to teams.
• As one conference commissioner said, "the celebration that occurs among the student-athletes, coaching staff and fans at the end of each bowl games is an indication of the importance of all bowl games."
• The BCS places great premium on the regular season of college football. Football weekends are an important ingredient in the overall college experience-going well beyond simply what occurs in the athletics department. A significant amount of the revenue that supports all athletic programs is generated by regular-season football. And so it is of great importance that the regular season remains strong and vibrant.
• The top two teams were matched in bowl games infrequently before the BCS, when conferences were contractually obligated to certain games and there was no flexibility to attempt to match the top teams.

BCS Governance
The BCS is managed by the commissioners of the 11 NCAA Division I-A conferences, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame, and representatives of the bowl organizations. The conferences are Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Pacific 10, Southeastern and Western Athletic.

The conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletics director make decisions regarding all BCS issues, in consultation with an athletics directors advisory group and subject to the approval of a presidential oversight committee whose members represent all 119 Division 1-A programs.

A conference commissioner serves as BCS coordinator. For the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons, the coordinator is John Swofford, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Presidential Oversight Committee
David Frohnmayer - President, University of Oregon
Rev. John Jenkins - President, University of Notre Dame
Robert Khayat - Chancellor, University of Mississippi
Mark A. Nordenberg - President, University of Pittsburgh
John G. Peters - President, Northern Illinois University
Harvey Perlman - Chancellor, University of Nebraska
Graham Spanier - President, The Pennsylvania State University
Charles W. Steger - President, Virginia Tech

Conference Commissioners and Notre Dame Athletics Director
Coordinator - John Swofford (ACC)
Britton Banowsky (C-USA)
Dan Beebe (Big 12)
Karl Benson (WAC)
Rick Chryst (MAC)
Jim Delany (Big Ten)
Tom Hansen (Pac-10)
Mike Slive (SEC)
Craig Thompson (MWC)
Michael Tranghese (Big East)
Wright Waters (Sun Belt)
Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame)

AD Advisory Group
Gene Bleymaier (Boise State - WAC)
Joe Castiglione (Oklahoma - Big 12)
Gene DeFilippo (Boston College - ACC)
Jeremy Foley (Florida - SEC)
Keith Tribble (Central Florida, C-USA)
Ronald Guenther (Illinois - Big Ten)
Tom Holmoe (Brigham Young - MWC)
Tom Jurich (Louisville - Big East)
Dean Lee (Arkansas State - Sun Belt)
Jim Livengood (Arizona - Pac 10)
Mike O'Brien (Toledo - MAC)