AP won't allow BCS to use their poll next year!

Sportsbow · Post by **Sportsbow** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 12:54 pm

LINK: http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/f ... ut_of_bcs/

Could this be the end of the BCS computer rankings?
My message to the BCS is....Play-offs, Jerk-offs!

AP pulls out of BCS
The removal of AP poll from formula will take place starting next year
By Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff | December 21, 2004

The Associated Press pulled its football poll from being used by the Bowl Championship Series to select the teams for the national title game and the three other BCS bowls.

Kevin Weiberg, the commissioner of the Big 12 and coordinator of the BCS, said he has received a letter from the AP indicating it was concerned about the process and being a part of it.

"We respect the decision of the Associated Press to no longer have its poll included in the BCS standings,'' Weiberg said in a statement today. "Since the inception of the BCS, the AP poll has been part of our standings. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from the organization in providing rankings on a weekly basis. We will discuss alternatives to the Associated Press poll at the upcoming BCS meetings and plan to conclude our evaluation of the BCS standings formula, including any other possible changes by our April meeting.''

The move takes place starting next season.

The eight teams selected for the four major bowls -- Orange, Rose, Sugar, and Fiesta -- are picked by the BCS, which uses a combination of the AP poll (voted on by writers and broadcasters), the ESPN/USA Today poll (coaches) and several computer rankings. Each segment receives a one-third weighting in picking the teams.

Controversy arose this year when some voters in the AP poll moved Texas ahead of California in the final ballot. That move was enough (even though Cal stayed ahead, the margin was closer) to push Texas ahead in the BCS standings when the polls and computer rankings were combined. As a result, Texas is going to the Rose Bowl, while Cal ends up at the Holiday Bowl.

Â© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.