College football season begins the last weekend of August. Hundreds of thousands of college football fans around the country rally around their favorite college football teams as the teams compete all season to reach the National Championship Game.
The college football regular season continues through early December, finishing with the Army-Navy Game and several conference championship games on the same weekend.
NCAA Division I-A football is the only Division I NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine its champion each season. The NCAA football postseason consists of a series of bowl games that feature the top college teams in the country.
Since 1998, the National Championship has been determined by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS formula incorporates various polls and computer rankings to determine the top two college football teams in the country who will compete in the title game.
Many college football fans and analysts across the country are in favor of instituting an actual championship tournament rather than using the BCS rankings. Critics complain that the BCS system favors large conference teams and is too ambiguous.
The BCS National Championship Game was added in the 2006 season. The site of the game rotates every year between the four BCS Bowl locations – Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
The first BCS Championship Game was held on January 8, 2007 with the Florida Gators (13-1) defeating Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) by a score of 41-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – home of the Fiesta Bowl.
More College Football Information:
- NCAA Football – Official site of NCAA football
- College Football – College football resources and news
- Bowl Championship Series – Official website of the BCS
- Bowl Games – Links to college bowl game info
