Everyone knows it's true but I'm asking how directly? I recall hearing that the TV execs had the right to override a matchup they didn't like in the BCS era among the BCS Bowls. It sounded more like a legit statement than mere hearsay.

Can anyone confirm this? It would make yesterday's decisions seem more legit.

guess they could but don't think they ever did...

but remember- the bowls were such snobs that it didn't matter. See a few years ago where Boise was ranked 7th but Sugar Bowl took Michigan and Va Tech even though they were much lower.

This system in that facet is much more legit. No longer will some programs be gifted bowl bids that they just do not deserve. That is a MAJOR positive to me.

I honestly think that (my OP) may have been what happened here, where we see two small private religious schools pushed aside for an enormous state school with a national following. But come on, both TCU and Baylor are located outside one of the largest metro areas in the entire country.

OR

Maybe the committee didn't want to have to deal with the Baylor and TCU/conference champion/head-to-head question plus the criticism that would spawn from it and just added someone else instead.

I have no idea if it is true or not, but with the cloak and dagger way of choosing teams, and the fluidity of the criteria, and the fact that the rankings are done by "secret ballot" with everyone in the same room, it would be much, much easier for them to do so, then under the old system where everyone voted independently, and computers used preset formulas to get our rankings.

There was no over-ride option by TV.

BCS selection worked like this. The directors of the four bowls and the conference commissioners (plus Notre Dame AD, hereinafter "the commissioners") gathered in New York.

The commissioners would hand the four bowl directors the final BCS ranking so that they knew who was 1-2 and not available. They were given a list of the schools that had to be selected (the six AQ champs with the title game participants removed, and any buster) and a list of the schools eligible for at-large selection. Some teams eligible for selection would already be removed because the four directors had previously released them (for example if #2 in MWC was within the at-large selection range but wasn't going to be picked they would release them to do their own bowl deals).

The four directors would then meet privately. For example if the BCS were in action this year with Alabama and Oregon 1 and 2, the first order of business would have been for first the Sugar (since Bama was #1) to pick a team to replace Bama. Then the Rose would have picked a replacement for Oregon. Neither would have Baylor or Florida State to pick because those two were automatically assigned to the Fiesta and Orange respectively. Sugar couldn't pick Ohio State because they would have been assigned to Rose.

That would leave three spots to fill after Sugar and Rose did their thing. There probably wouldn't have been a buster so they would have had to pick the remaining at-large.

The only time the commissioners ever over-ruled the directors was in 2007. The Orange selected Kansas and the Fiesta selected West Virginia then traded OU from Fiesta for Kansas. That would have given Fiesta Kansas vs. West Virginia and Orange OU vs. VaTech.

When they came out the directors told them they could not trade an AQ out of their guaranteed bowl and pointed out that OU fans were already booking airfare and hotels and likely tickets from third-party suppliers. The Orange then asked to trade Kansas to Fiesta for West Virginia and Fiesta wanted to drop Kansas for Arizona State and the commissioners told them that was tough they had already picked their schools.

(12-08-2014 09:12 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  Everyone knows it's true but I'm asking how directly? I recall hearing that the TV execs had the right to override a matchup they didn't like in the BCS era among the BCS Bowls. It sounded more like a legit statement than mere hearsay.

Can anyone confirm this? It would make yesterday's decisions seem more legit.

The only bowl with some leeway is the Orange Bowl. Where they decide if ND or the higher ranked B1G/SEC team gets a spot, or if there would be a rematch.
All other bowls have no say in what teams the committee decides to place that do not have contracts.

(12-08-2014 09:46 AM)adcorbett Wrote:  I have no idea if it is true or not, but with the cloak and dagger way of choosing teams, and the fluidity of the criteria, and the fact that the rankings are done by "secret ballot" with everyone in the same room, it would be much, much easier for them to do so, then under the old system where everyone voted independently, and computers used preset formulas to get our rankings.

As if the computer formula couldn't be "tweaked" for the right outcome. And that's not what I mean, I'm speaking of the results actually coming out under the old system and the TV execs giving a veto.