Death To The BCS

Death To The BCS: A Definitive Case Against The Bowl Championship Series is written by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan.  The book offers incredible insight into what really makes college football and the BCS tick.  Many of us know about the injustices of the BCS, but Death To The BCS takes it to a whole new level.

The writers take an extensive look into the reasons that the BCS people give for not having a playoff.  “It would take away class time.”  “It wouldn’t be good for the band members or cheerleaders.”  “It would take away the importance of the regular season.”  All three are ridiculous arguments that “the Cartel”, as they call the BCS throughout, uses to leave people dumbfounded.  Those are just the beginning. 

The Cartel’s biggest argument against a playoff is that there has not been a reasonable alternative suggested.  The book was written before this past season so obviously there was no knowing that the plus-one would be suggested and gain steam.  Wetzel, Peter, and Passan take the time to not only craft their own plan that could very well work, they crafted a plan that would be exponentially more profitable than the current system. 

Many people love sports for its simplicity and sense of purity.  The BCS not only complicates the system beyond belief, it takes the purity of competition and fairness almost completely out of college football.  We know that money drives everything, but in sports the integrity of the game and competition should never be sacrificed.  The BCS throws integrity completely out the window. 

My favorite part of the book is the final chapter titled “Death to the BCS”.  The chapter starts off talking about how the BCS is so corrupt that it even brings Republicans and Democrats together.  Anybody with the slightest sense of 2012 politics knows that that is damn near impossible.  The writers call the BCS un-American.  At first I thought it was funny; how could college football, one of the most ‘merican sports on the planet, not be ‘merican anymore?  Well, the BCS has found a way to do it.

Many of us here at Drexel are either on co-op or preparing for summer vacation, and some of us may be looking build a little reading list for free time.  Yes a reading list, don’t tell me I’m the only nerd here.  If you want a good college football read, or a good sports business read in general, I highly recommend Death to the BCS.  Wetzel, Peter, and Passan are all award winning writers, Wetzel being one of the best investigative journalists in the business right now.  Their research really shines through, which you can appreciate even if you are for some reason on the BCS’s side in this matter.  Death to the BCS is a must for college football fans and highly recommended for sports business fanatics.