Introduction to the Enhanced Bowl Season

Many individuals have called for a "playoff" to determine the national champion of college football's Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly DI-A). An NFL-style playoff would help achieve that lone goal, but the costs to college football's traditions would be too damaging (see flaws of frequently mentioned playoff proposals in the Why section). Any postseason must preserve those core characteristics that make college football an exceptional product.

The Enhanced Bowl Season (EBS) is a proposed alternative postseason that recognizes the uniqueness of the college football product, including its riveting regular season and special bowl-based postseason. Unlike many other postseason proposals, the EBS considers the needs of all parties: student-athletes, schools, BCS conferences, non-BCS conferences, bowl games and their communities, sponsors, television networks (and other media), and fans. These parties have different, though often overlapping, equally valid goals for a postseason (the table at the bottom of this page identifies stakeholder interests and the ways in which the EBS traits satisfy these needs).

EBS Format

The EBS uses a 12-team direct-elimination tournament (the EBS tournament) to determine the national champion. The tournament structure provides worthy teams, including those from historically disadvantaged non-BCS conferences, the chance to compete on the field for a national championship. At the same time, EBS qualification procedures limit the EBS Tournament to only those teams whose season's accomplishments warrant a chance to compete for a national championship.

The EBS allows more teams to participate in the hunt for the national championship, provides considerable rewards for conference champions, and makes qualifying difficult for all but the best teams. These factors help to preserve, or even enhance, college football's regular season. As more teams have a legitimate chance to compete for a national championship, regular season games and conference play take on added importance. Thus, a team's title hopes do not end with early-season losses; this helps motivate the players (creating a better on-field product), energize the fan base, and attract spectators and television viewers to watch a larger quantity of exciting games.

What is the format?

• A complete postseason featuring:
  • Existing bowl games
  • A 12-team tournament to crown a National Champion

Who gets into the tournament?

• 12 teams
  • 7 automatic qualifiers
    • 6 BCS conference champions
    • 1 highest ranked non-BCS conference champion
• Possible automatic berths: Any non-BCS conference champion or independent ranking in Top 12
• At large: highest ranked remaining teams

Who gets byes?

• First-round byes (4 teams)
• Must be conference champions (or independents in Top 6)

How are teams seeded?

• Determined by rank in poll
• Modified if seedings result in first-round game:
  • Between same-conference teams
  • Between teams who met in regular season
• Switching seeds limited to teams that are mathematically close in rankings

For more details, see the Who and How sections.

Team selection and Seeding Example - 2009

Schedule & Bowl Sites

The EBS uses existing bowls as hosts for tournament games. By rotating first round games to different bowl venues, the EBS tournament increases the profile of "minor" bowls, which carries benefits of increased spectator and sponsor interest even in non-tournament years. The tournament games are scheduled to attract attention to non-tournament bowl games (during "bowl week"), which can thrive in co-existence with the EBS tournament.

Higher-profile bowls, such as the Rose, Orange, etc. are annual fixtures in the EBS tournament. Further, quarterfinal games on New Year's Day continue the tradition of college football's historically significant holiday.

The EBS schedule limits the impact of games on student-athletes' academic loads. The potential for conflict with class time is minimal, and there exists and even smaller likelihood of conflicting with exams. Games are also scheduled to avoid conflict with NFL games.

First Round Games

• Games scheduled between Dec. 20 and Dec. 24
• Played at 4 bowls from a rotating slate of 12 bowls (as an example):
  • East: Champ Sports, Gator, Meineke Car Care
  • Central: PapaJohns.com, GMAC, Music CIty
  • South: New Mexico, Alamo, Sun
  • West: Emerald, Las Vegas, Insight
• Teams assigned based on geographic proximity of top seed

"Bowl Week": (non-EBS tournament bowls)

• Games scheduled between Dec. 25 and Dec. 31
• Held as normal with traditional conference tie-ins
• Sandwiched position between tournament games generates excitement
• Benefit from added publicity during tournament year

Quarterfinals

• Games scheduled between Jan. 1 and Jan. 3
• 6 rotating-bowl slate
  • Capital One and Cotton always hosting along with either Rose/Sugar or Orange/Fiesta
  • Current BCS bowls flip every year between quarterfinals and semifinals
• Sites assigned to bye teams based on:
  • Traditional bowl affiliations
  • Location (if within 250 miles)
  • Preference to higher seeded teams

Semifinals

• Games scheduled between Jan. 8 and Jan. 10
• Sites selected based on location of #1 seed
  • If #1 team's conference has an affiliation with one of the sites, then that semifinal is held there.
  • Otherwise, if #1 team plays in western quarterfinal (Cotton or Rose/Fiesta), that semifinal is Fiesta/Rose.
  • If #1 team plays in eastern quarterfinal (Capital One or Sugar/Orange), that semifinal is held at Orange/Sugar.

National Title Game

• Games scheduled either Jan. 15 or Jan. 16
• Held at rotating site

More schedule details are available in the When section, and location specifics can be found in the Where section.

Fulfilling Desired Traits

The key parties in college football have different, though often overlapping, goals for a postseason. The table below identifies these interests and how the EBS addresses these needs.

Click on any row in the table below (box will turn grey) to see how the features of the Enhanced Bowl Season fulfill the desired traits of a college football postseason.