BCS Adds a Poll

The method for choosing next year’s college football champion has been worked out, but there are no guarantees it will prevent a repeat of last year’s madness.

Bowl championship series officials announced Monday that a newly created poll, to be administered by Harris Interactive, would replace Associated Press in the BCS selection process.

AP, citing a conflict of interests, pulled its poll out of the BCS formula in December after some of its voters became embroiled in controversy over the complicated selection of Texas, instead of California, to play in the Rose Bowl. Cal had finished ahead of Texas in both human polls but fifth to Texas’ fourth in the final BCS standings.

Rather than revamp the 7-year-old BCS system, or scrap it altogether, officials created another poll to replace AP’s in the formula.

“We have to have a rankings system to make this structure work,” BCS Coordinator Kevin Weiberg said. “It’s not a playoff structure.... We’ve tried to find balance between human polls and computer polls that can work.”

Voting in the Harris poll will be former coaches, former players, administrators and media members. The names of the panelists will not be revealed until Harris has completed its target goal of 114 commitments.

Harris poll spokesman John Kennedy said Monday that more than 80 voters had already agreed to participate, adding, “We’re recruiting as we speak.”

Need a sneak preview? The Honolulu Advertiser recently reported that former Hawaii coach Bob Wagner and former-UH athletic director Hugh Yosida had been contacted by Harris, and both said they would be available to serve as voters.

Harris drew from more than 300 names that were presented for nomination by the 11 division I-A conferences and independent schools, including Notre Dame.

To make the poll regionally balanced, it is expected that each conference will be represented by 10 voters.

Harris Interactive Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., is described as the 11th-largest market research firm in the world and is responsible for the Harris Poll.

The Harris Interactive College Football Poll will make its debut Sept. 25 and will be released weekly through Dec. 4, with final ballots being made public. Weiberg said Harris voters would be free to release their weekly votes if they chose.

The voting coaches in the other poll, whose credibility was attacked last season in the Cal-Texas controversy because they chose to keep their weekly votes anonymous, agreed in the off-season to make their final ballots public this year.

The basic structure of the BCS standings remains intact.

The Harris poll joins the USA TODAY coaches’ poll -- ESPN has withdrawn as a co-sponsor -- and a computer component in the three-part BCS formula.

The polls will be weighted equally and calculated to a point total. The top two schools in the final BCS standings will play for the BCS national championship, Jan. 4 in the Rose Bowl.

Weiberg reiterated Monday there was no movement among college presidents to establish a playoff. He acknowledged that the creation of a new poll did not diminish the possibility for more controversy.

Associated Press will continue to crown a national champion independent of the BCS.

In 2003, USC won the AP crown, even though the Trojans finished third in the BCS standings.

“We certainly know the AP will continue to be in existence,” Weiberg said.

As for the prospect of more split championships, Weiberg said, “That’s a possibility. We’re aware of it.”