Bowl Coalition

Last updated
Bowl Coalition
In operation 19921994
Preceded by National Polls (1869–1991)
Succeeded by Bowl Alliance (19951997)
Number of Coalition bowls
  • Tier 1: 4 each season
  • Tier 2: 3 (1992) or 2 (1993–1994)
Most Coalition bowl appearances Florida, Florida St., Miami (FL), Nebraska, Notre Dame (3)
Most Coalition bowl wins Florida St. (3)
Most Coalition bowl championships Alabama, Florida St., Nebraska (1)
Conference with most appearances ACC, Big East, Big 8, SEC, SWC (6)
Conference with most game wins SEC (5)
Conference with most championships ACC, Big 8, SEC (1)
Last championship game 1995 Orange Bowl
Last champion Nebraska

The College Football Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences. It was established for the 1992 season after there were co-national champions for both 1990 and 1991. The agreement was in place for the 1992, 1993, and 1994 college football seasons. It was the predecessor of the Bowl Alliance (1995–1997), and later the Bowl Championship Series (1998–2013) and the College Football Playoff (since 2014).

Contents

Background

Since the Associated Press began crowning its national champion in 1968 following the bowl games, the two top-ranked teams going into the bowls had faced one other in a bowl only six times, most recently in the 1987 season. Due to often rigid existing bowl tie-ins, and various conference regulations, it was not uncommon that the two top-ranked teams at the end of the regular season would never meet on the field, even when there was a clear-cut #1 and #2. Following two consecutive seasons of split national championships (1990 and 1991), there was a renewed interest in devising a system that would provide for a #1 vs. #2 national championship bowl game.

The College Football Bowl Coalition consisted of five member conferences (SEC, Big 8, SWC, ACC, and Big East) along with independent Notre Dame and seven bowl games (Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Gator, Sun, and, for the 1992 season only, the Blockbuster Bowl). [1]

Under the agreement, bowl bids would be extended to the five member conference champions plus five at-large teams. The at-large teams would come from a pool of the member conference runners-up (SEC, Big 8, SWC, ACC, Big East), independent Notre Dame, the runner-up of the Pac-10, and the SEC's third-place team (the SEC started playing a championship game in 1992 and the championship game loser was tied to the Citrus Bowl). The Orange, Sugar, Cotton, and Fiesta Bowls were "Tier 1 Bowls" under the Coalition agreement, and the Gator, Sun, and Blockbuster were "Tier 2 Bowls".

The Orange, Sugar, and Cotton bowls retained their long-standing agreements to invite the Big 8, SEC, and SWC champions, respectively. According to the initial Bowl Coalition rules, if champions from these conferences were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, they would not have played each other in a national championship game and instead each gone to their respective traditional bowl. [2]

In later years,[ citation needed ] the Big 8, SEC, and SWC champions would be released to play in another bowl if it was necessary to force a "title game". For example, if the SEC and SWC champions were ranked first and second, the Cotton Bowl would have released the SWC champ to play in the Sugar Bowl, or the Sugar would have released the SEC champ to play in the Cotton. This did not happen in any of the three years, as either the Big East or ACC champion qualified for the championship in those years.

The top "host" team played the top "at-large" team in the host team's affiliated bowl. Slots for the games were chosen by the "Bowl Poll," in which the points from the AP and Coaches polls were combined. If the top two teams were both "at-large", then the Fiesta would have hosted the "title game." The third place team from the SEC hosted the Gator Bowl.

The system worked perfectly in its first year. Big East champion Miami was ranked first in both polls, while SEC champion Alabama was ranked second. As Big East champion, Miami was free to face Alabama in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, forcing the first bowl matchup between the consensus #1 and #2 teams since 1987.

Criticism

The Coalition was flawed in several respects. Most significantly, it did not include the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10, both of whom were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl. The Coalition's founders tried to get the Tournament of Roses Association to release the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions to play in a title game if one of them was ranked #1 or #2 in the Bowl Poll, but it refused to do so due to concerns about this potentially violating its television contract with ABC.

The possibility also still existed that an undefeated and untied team would not get a chance to play for the national championship. This occurred during the 1993 season. Nebraska and West Virginia both finished the season 11–0. West Virginia ranked #2 in the final regular season Coaches Poll (behind #1 Nebraska), but was ranked #3 in the final regular season AP Poll (behind #1 Florida State and #2 Nebraska). The margin between West Virginia and Florida State was large enough to drop the Mountaineers to third in the Bowl Coalition poll, forcing them to settle for a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

The Coalition did not include the so-called "mid-major" Division I-A conferences (WAC, Big West, and Mid-American), nor any of the I-A independents besides Notre Dame. However, it was argued that most of these schools did not have schedules strong enough to be legitimate title contenders. For example, when BYU won the national championship in 1984 — the last time a team from a mid-major conference has won a consensus national championship to date (UCF claimed a national championship in 2017) — some college football pundits argued that the Cougars had not played a legitimate schedule. BYU had only played one ranked team all season, and only two of the Cougars' opponents won more than seven games. Despite criticism of their schedule, the Cougars were a near-unanimous pick as national champion at the end of the season. The Coalition's exclusion of mid-major conferences made it difficult for this to ever happen again.

Demise

The Bowl Coalition's demise came about, in large part, as the result of two events that occurred in the 1994 season. First, the Southwest Conference, which had seen a marked decline in its quality of play over the past decade, announced it would dissolve after the 1995 season. Also, after finishing 10–1–1 in 1992 and 11–1 in 1993, Notre Dame slipped to 6–4–1 in 1994. They were still invited to the Fiesta Bowl that season, losing 41–24 to Colorado. The sudden fall of Notre Dame led some involved in the Bowl Coalition to be concerned about the possibility of Notre Dame failing to win the minimum six games to be eligible for a bowl invitation. To alleviate these concerns, before the 1995 season the Bowl Coalition was reconfigured into the Bowl Alliance, breaking up the conference tie-ins and tweaking a system that still did not include the Big Ten and the Pac-10.

The final year of the Bowl Coalition saw its formula break down completely, as the situation it was designed to prevent (a split national championship) presented itself as a serious possibility. Nebraska (12–0) finished the regular season ranked #1 in both the AP and Coaches polls while Penn State (11–0) ranked #2 in both polls. Penn State had decided prior to the formation of the Bowl Coalition to give up its independent football status to join the Big Ten, [3] a conference not part of the coalition and whose champion was contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl. Nebraska, as Big 8 champion, qualified automatically for the Orange Bowl. Since the #2 team in the polls was unavailable, the coalition invited the next highest ranked team, #3 Miami, to face Nebraska in its national championship game. The Orange Bowl was scheduled for New Year's night in Miami, while Penn State would face Oregon the following afternoon in the Rose Bowl (New Year's Day fell on a Sunday in 1995; when this happens bowls scheduled for January 1 are typically moved back one day). This meant that not only would there be a split championship if Miami won, but that Penn State's fate could be sealed before they even had a chance to play their game. In the end Nebraska defeated Miami to win the Orange Bowl and became consensus champions despite Penn State's win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

One legacy of the Bowl Coalition was that it cemented the status of the Fiesta Bowl as a major bowl. The Fiesta Bowl was by far the youngest of the "Tier 1" bowls. Indeed, it was the only "Tier 1" bowl that was less than a half-century old at the time, and was far newer than the "Tier 2" Gator and Sun Bowls.

Bowl Coalition games

1992 season

Tier I
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Cotton January 1, 19935 Notre Dame (10–1–1)Ind.284 Texas A&M (12–0) SWC 3
Fiesta January 1, 19936 Syracuse (10–2) Big East #22610 Colorado (9–2–1) Big 8 #222
Orange January 1, 19933 Florida State (11–1) ACC 2711 Nebraska (9–3) Big 8 14
Sugar January 1, 19932 Alabama (12–0) SEC 341 Miami (FL) (11–0) Big East 13
Tier II
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Hancock December 31, 1992 Baylor (7–5) SWC #22022 Arizona (6–5–1)Pac-1015
Gator December 31, 199214 Florida (9–4) SEC #32712 NC State (9–3–1) ACC #210
Blockbuster January 1, 199313 Stanford (9–3) Pac-10 #22421 Penn State (7–5)Ind.3

1993 season

Tier I
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Cotton January 1, 19944 Notre Dame (10–1)Ind.247 Texas A&M (10–1)SWC21
Fiesta January 1, 199416 Arizona (9–2)Pac-10 #22910 Miami (FL) (9–2)Big East #20
Sugar January 1, 19948 Florida (10–2)SEC413 West Virginia (11–0)Big East7
Orange January 1, 19941 Florida State (11–1)ACC182 Nebraska (11–0)Big 816
Tier II
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Hancock December 24, 199319 Oklahoma (8–3)Big 8 #241 Texas Tech (6–5)SWC #210
Gator December 31, 199318 Alabama (8–3–1)SEC #32412 North Carolina (10–2)ACC #210

1994 season

Tier I
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Cotton January 2, 199521 USC (7–3–1)Pac-10 #255 Texas Tech (6–5)SWC14
Fiesta January 2, 19954 Colorado (10–1)Big 8 #241 Notre Dame (6–4–1)Ind.24
Sugar January 2, 19957 Florida State (9–1–1)ACC235 Florida (10–1–1)SEC17
Orange January 1, 19951 Nebraska (12–0)Big 8243 Miami (10–1)Big East17
Tier II
BowlDateWinnerCon.ScoreLoserCon.Score
Sun December 30, 1994 Texas (8–3)SWC #23519 North Carolina (8–3)ACC #231
Gator December 30, 1994 Tennessee (7–4)SEC #34517 Virginia Tech (8–3)Big East #223

Notes:

Appearances

Bowl Coalition appearances by team

AppearancesSchoolWLPctGames
3 Florida State 301.000Won 1993 Orange Bowl
Won 1994 Orange Bowl+
Won 1995 Sugar Bowl (January)
3 Florida 21.666Won 1992 Gator Bowl
Won 1994 Sugar Bowl
Lost 1995 Sugar Bowl (January)
3 Notre Dame 21.666Won 1993 Cotton Bowl Classic
Won 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic
Lost 1995 Fiesta Bowl
3 Nebraska 120.333Lost 1993 Orange Bowl
Lost 1994 Orange Bowl+
Won 1995 Orange Bowl+
3 Miami (FL) 03.000Lost 1993 Sugar Bowl+
Lost 1994 Fiesta Bowl
Lost 1995 Orange Bowl+
2 Alabama 201.000Won 1993 Sugar Bowl+
Won 1993 Gator Bowl
2 Arizona 11.500Lost 1992 John Hancock Bowl
Won 1994 Fiesta Bowl
2 Colorado 11.500Lost 1993 Fiesta Bowl
Won 1994 Fiesta Bowl
2 North Carolina 02.000Lost 1993 Gator Bowl
Lost 1994 Sun Bowl
2 Texas A&M 02.000Lost 1993 Cotton Bowl Classic
Lost 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic
2 Texas Tech 02.000Lost 1993 John Hancock Bowl
Lost1995 Cotton Bowl Classic
1 Baylor 101.000Won 1992 John Hancock Bowl
1 Oklahoma 101.000Won 1993 John Hancock Bowl
1 Stanford 101.000Won 1993 Blockbuster Bowl
1 Syracuse 101.000Won 1993 Fiesta Bowl
1 Tennessee 101.000Won 1994 Gator Bowl
1 Texas 101.000Won 1994 Sun Bowl
1 USC 101.000Won 1995 Cotton Bowl Classic
1 N.C. State 01.000Lost 1992 Gator Bowl
1 Penn State 01.000Lost 1993 Blockbuster Bowl
1 Virginia Tech 01.000Lost 1994 Gator Bowl
1 West Virginia 01.000Lost 1994 Sugar Bowl

+ Denotes Bowl Coalition National Championship Game

Bowl Coalition National Championship Game appearances by team

AppearancesSchoolWLPctGames
2Nebraska11.500Lost 1994 Orange Bowl
Won 1995 Orange Bowl
2Miami (FL)02.000Lost 1993 Sugar Bowl
Lost 1995 Orange Bowl
1Alabama101.000Won 1993 Sugar Bowl
1Florida State101.000Won 1994 Orange Bowl

Bowl Coalition appearances by conference

ConferenceAppearancesWLPct# SchoolsSchool(s)
SEC 651.8333Florida (2–1)
Alabama (2–0)
Tennessee (1–0)
Big 8 633.5003Nebraska (1–2)
Colorado (1–1)
Oklahoma (1–0)
ACC 633.5003Florida State (3–0)
North Carolina (0–2)
NC State (0–1)
SWC 624.3334Texas A&M (0–2)
Texas Tech (0–2)
Texas (1–0)
Baylor (1–0)
Big East 615.1674Miami, FL (0–3)
Syracuse (1–0)
Virginia Tech (0–1)
West Virginia (0–1)
Pac-10 431.7503Arizona (1–1)
USC (1–0)
Stanford (1–0)
Independent 422.5002Notre Dame (2–1)
Penn State (0–1)

Bowl Coalition National Championship Game appearances by conference

ConferenceAppearancesWLPct# SchoolsSchool(s)
Big 8 211.5001Nebraska (1–1)
Big East 202.0001Miami, FL (0–2)
SEC 1101.0001Alabama (1–0)
ACC 1101.0001Florida State (1–0)

Heisman Trophy winners in Bowl Coalition National Championship Games

SeasonPlayerSchoolResultStatsNotes
1992 Gino Torretta Miami (FL) L 24-56-3, 278 yards, 0 TD; 5-1 rush
1993 Charlie Ward Florida State W 24-43-0, 286, 0 TD; 8-(-3) rush

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiesta Bowl</span> Annual American college football postseason game

The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Since 2022, it has been sponsored by Vrbo and officially known as the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Previous sponsors include PlayStation, BattleFrog, Vizio, Tostitos, IBM (1993–1995) and Sunkist (1986–1990).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Bowl</span> Annual American college football postseason game

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only by the Rose Bowl Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowl Championship Series</span> American college football playoff series

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff.

The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences. The agreement was in place for the 1995, 1996, and 1997 seasons and had replaced the Bowl Coalition. Each participating team in the Bowl Alliance Championship received $8.5 million from the television sponsors.

The NCAA was without a playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A, during the 20th century. The NCAA recognizes Division I-A national champions based on the final results of polls including the "wire service", FWAA and NFF. The 1964 AP poll continued to rank only ten teams, compiling the votes of 55 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined.

The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took the AP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPI Coaches poll by one vote over Colorado, 847 to 846. During the season Colorado had a particularly controversial victory over Missouri in what would later be known as the "Fifth Down Game". It was the only time in UPI Coaches poll history that a coach changed his vote against the pre-bowl #1 after that #1 team won their bowl game. Unlike several seasons to come in the 1990's, the two teams that became split national champions could have actually met in a 1 vs. 2 bowl game. Georgia Tech's ACC champion status did not preclude them from taking their #2 ranking to the Orange Bowl to face the automatic Big-8 champion in #1 Colorado for a decisive title game. But the Orange Bowl committee wanted Notre Dame instead of Georgia Tech as the Buffaloes' opponent, because Notre Dame had a larger fan base and would accrue more money and better TV ratings than the Yellow Jackets would have.

The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.

The 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season was the main college football season sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The season began on August 28, 1991, and ended on January 1, 1992. For the second consecutive season, there was a split national championship. Both the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies finished the season undefeated (12–0) and with the top ranking in a nationally recognized poll.

The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition and concluded with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant. One of Bryant's former players, Gene Stallings, was the head coach, and he used a style similar to Bryant's, a smashmouth running game combined with a tough defense.

The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States at the NCAA Division I-A level, began in August 1994 and ended on January 2, 1995. Nebraska, who finished the season undefeated, ended the year ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. This was the first national championship of coach Tom Osborne's career at Nebraska, having come close the year before, when Nebraska lost to eventual national champion Florida State on a missed field goal as time expired.

The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance.

The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents, 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 NCAA Division I-A football season</span> American college football season

The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship of the 1980s in an Orange Bowl game featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes.

The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of bowls.

The 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami, led by Bernie Kosar, winning their first national championship over perennial power and top ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fresno, California; this game fancied itself as a "junior" version of the Rose Bowl as it pitted the Big West Conference champion vs. the Mid-American Conference champion.

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A. The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). Prior to 1965, both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season, but before teams competed in bowl games. For the 1965 season, the AP took its final poll after the postseason games, an arrangement made permanent in 1968. The Associated Press presented the "AP Trophy" to the winner.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system used between 1998 and 2013 that was designed, through polls and computer statistics, to determine a No. 1 and No. 2 ranked team in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). After the final polls, the two top teams were chosen to play in the BCS National Championship Game which determined the BCS national champion team, but not the champion team for independent voting systems. This format was intended to be "bowl-centered" rather than a traditional playoff system, since numerous FBS Conferences had expressed their unwillingness to participate in a play-off system. However, due to the unique and often esoteric nature of the BCS format, there had been controversy as to which two teams should play for the national championship and which teams should play in the four other BCS bowl games. In this selection process, the BCS was often criticized for conference favoritism, its inequality of access for teams in non-Automatic Qualifying (non-AQ) Conferences, and perceived monopolistic, "profit-centered" motives. In terms of this last concern, Congress explored the possibility on more than one occasion of holding hearings to determine the legality of the BCS under the terms of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the United States Justice Department also periodically announced interest in investigating the BCS for similar reasons.

The 1977 NCAA Division I football season was one in which the top five teams finished with 11–1 records. Notre Dame, which beat top-ranked and undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, became the national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange Bowl</span> Annual American college football postseason game

The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game that has been played annually in the Miami metropolitan area since January 1, 1935. Along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, it is one of the oldest bowl games in the country behind only the Rose Bowl, which was first played in 1902 and has been played annually since 1916. The Orange Bowl was originally held in the city of Miami at Miami Field before moving to the Miami Orange Bowl stadium in 1938. In 1996, it moved to its current location at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the home football field for both the University of Miami and Miami Dolphins. Since December 2014, the game has been sponsored by Capital One and officially known as the Capital One Orange Bowl. Previous sponsors include Discover Financial and Federal Express/FedEx (1989–2010).

References

  1. Fachet, Robert (January 24, 1992). "Bowl Deal Set with Coalition". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 10, 2022. ...under an agreement hammered out yesterday by the College Football Bowl Coalition that also provides enhanced opportunity for a national championship game.
  2. Fachet, Robert (January 24, 1992). "Bowl Deal Set with Coalition". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 10, 2022. And the Big Eight, Southwest and Southeastern winners could not be paired if they are 1 or 2 because of their commitments to different bowls.
  3. Thomas Jr., Robert Mcg. (December 16, 1989). "Penn State To Join Big Ten Conference". New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

Works cited