BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game , or BCS National Championship , is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U . S . national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( formerly known as NCAA Division I - A ) . The participants are the two highest - ranked teams in the BCS standings at the end of the regular college football season , currently ( until the end of the current BCS television contracts in 2013 ) determined by averaging the results of the final weekly " USA Today " Coaches ' Poll , Harris Interactive Poll of media , former players and coaches , and the average of six participating computer rankings . Since the formation of the Bowl Championship Series , there have been several controversies regarding the schools selected to participate in the BCS National Championship Game . Most notably , following the 2003 season , the BCS ranking system selected the # 3 ranked school in the Associated Press writers ' poll , the University of Oklahoma , over the # 1 ranked school in that poll , the University of Southern California , to participate in the National Championship Game ( the Nokia Sugar Bowl ) despite Oklahoma ' s decisive loss to Kansas State in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game . 2003 is the only season , to date , since the inception of the BCS in which the national championship has been split , with Louisiana State University winning the BCS national championship and the University of Southern California winning the AP national championship and the FWAA national championship . The BCS National Championship for the 2011 season at the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans , LA was held on January 9 , 2012 , sponsored by Allstate , and televised on the ESPN television network . The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the LSU Tigers 21 - 0 in the first shutout in BCS National Championship history . The game was also the first time that two teams from the same conference ( and also from the same division of the same conference ) met for the BCS National Championship . This result is largely credited with the swift move in the 2012 offseason to a BCS 4 - team playoff which will replace the single - game championship format after the 2014 season . History . The first BCS Championship Game was played at the conclusion of the 1998 college football season in accordance with an agreement by the Big Ten Conference , the Pac - 10 ( now Pac - 12 ) Conference , and the Rose Bowl Game to join the " Bowl Alliance " system . The expanded format was called the Bowl Championship Series . The Bowl Alliance and its predecessor , the Bowl Coalition , featured championship games from 1992 through 1997 . However , these did not ensure a matchup between the top two ranked teams because of the lack of participation by the Big Ten and Pac - 10 . Presentation of the crystal football trophy , first awarded at the end of the 1992 season , continues to be awarded to the BCS National Championship Game winner . The BCS National Championship Game was initially rotated among the four participating bowl games : the ( Rose Bowl , Orange Bowl , Fiesta Bowl , and Sugar Bowl ) . However , beginning with the 2006 season , the BCS National Championship Game became a separate bowl game unto itself , following New Year ' s Day . The BCS National Championship Game rotates its location among the Orange , Sugar , Fiesta , and Rose Bowl venues ; however , the BCS National Championship Game is not coupled with those Bowls . For example , the 2011 Fiesta Bowl was a separate event from the 2011 BCS National Championship Game . Game results . No 2004 BCS Champion due to NCAA sanctions against USC , nullifying participation and results . A June 6 , 2011 decision of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee , the 2004 championship will remain permanently vacant . Pursuant to NCAA sanctions , USC running back Reggie Bush was declared retroactively ineligible for the 2005 Orange Bowl . The same June 6 , 2011 decision of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee nullified USC ' s 2005 season participation in the 2006 Rose Bowl . However , since Texas defeated USC on the field , Texas is still recognized as the BCS National Champion for 2005 . " Participating conferences and personal awards listed within table here . " Records by team . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Miami and Virginia Tech moved to the ACC in 2004 . Nebraska moved to the Big Ten in 2011 . No current member of the Big East has played in a BCS championship game . < nowiki > * * < / nowiki > The one SEC loss was to another SEC team in the BCS National Championship on January 9 , 2012 ( for the 2011 season ) between Alabama and LSU . < nowiki > † < / nowiki > USC has two vacated BCS appearances , in 2004 and 2005 . Criticisms and controversy . Critics of the current BCS championship argue against the internal validity of the current BCS " National Championship " , which is awarded to the winner of a single postseason game , the BCS National Championship game . Critics lament that the participants in this game are decided based upon polls and computers ; not by previous on - field competition as is this the case in other major sports and other levels of college football which employ playoff format championships . Often , the BCS system leads to controversies in which multiple teams finish seasons with equal records , and voters must distinguish the worthiness of their participation in the BCS National Championship game . Without providing any objective criteria for evaluation of these teams , the BCS also forces voters to impose their own standards and tiebreakers . Critics note that the system inherently fosters selection bias , and therefore , lacks external validity . Controversies concerning inclusion in the BCS National Championship Game are numerous . In 2001 , for example , Oregon , second ranked in the AP poll , was bypassed in favor of Nebraska despite Nebraska ' s loss in its final regular season game to the University of Colorado in a blowout with a score of 62 - 36 . In 2003 , USC was not included in the BCS Championship Game , but beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and ended up # 1 in the Associated Press final poll . The following season , in 2004 , undefeated Auburn University , Boise State University and University of Utah teams were left out of the National Championship Game ( the FedEx Orange Bowl ) , although those teams were undefeated as well . In 2008 , the University of Utah was excluded from the BCS championship for a second time despite being the only undefeated Division I - A team at the end of the season and finished second behind 13 – 1 Florida . In 2009 , five schools finished the regular season undefeated : Alabama , Texas , Cincinnati , Texas Christian University , and Boise State ; however , the BCS selected traditional powers Alabama and Texas to participate in the BCS National Championship Game as they were the top two teams in the BCS rankings . Many critics of the Bowl Championship Series favor a larger championship tournament with eight to sixteen teams , similar to that administered by the NCAA for its Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , Division II , and Division III football championships . Others favor adopting the incremental step of adding a single post - bowl championship game between the winners of two BCS games among the top four ranked teams in the BCS standings , the so - called " plus one " option . The SEC and ACC conferences have recently pushed for some form of playoff system . On June 24 , 2009 , the BCS presidential oversight committee rejected the Mountain West Conference ' s proposed eight - team playoff plan . In 2009 , the NCAA ruled that former USC running back Reggie Bush was retroactively ineligible for the 2004 BCS National Championship Game , the 2005 Orange Bowl vs . Oklahoma , for receiving various illegal benefits . In May 2011 , the NCAA rejected all appeals of USC ' s penalties , which included Bush ' s ineligibility and a two - year bowl ban . On June 6 , 2011 , the University of Southern California became the first school to lose a Bowl Championship Series National Championship due to NCAA sanctions , as the BCS President ' s Oversight Committee stripped USC of the 2004 title . There will be no 2004 champion . In addition , the BCS also nullified USC ' s participation in the 2006 Rose Bowl . ( See attributions 1 and 2 . ) Future . The game ' s location rotates among the sites of the BCS bowls . Future scheduled sites are as follows ( note the years shown are for the game , which occurs in the calendar year following the corresponding NCAA football season ) : During 2012 , the BCS actively considered changes to the format that would begin with the 2014 football season that would extend the season by one game by either establishing a four school semifinal round that would determine the participants in the National Championship Game or by selecting the participants in the National Championship Game after the season ' s bowl games have been completed . On June 26 , 2012 , the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee approved a four school playoff format , in which the participants will be determined by a selection committee , the semifinals will be played in existing bowl games on New Year ' s Eve and New Year ' s Day , and the final will be played six to ten days later at a neutral site selected through a competitive bidding process . Media coverage . Television . From 1999 through 2006 , ABC broadcast eight BCS National Championship Games pursuant to broadcasting rights negotiated with the BCS and the Rose Bowl , whose rights were offered separately . Beginning with the 2006 – 07 season , FOX obtained the BCS package , consisting of the Orange Bowl , Fiesta Bowl , Sugar Bowl , and the BCS National Championship Games hosted by these bowls , with ABC retaining the rights to the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship Games hosted by the Rose Bowl ( such as the 2010 edition ) On November 18 , 2008 , the BCS announced that ESPN had won the television rights to the BCS National Championship Game ( as well as the other four BCS bowls ) for 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , and 2014 . The contract with ESPN is notable as it makes the BCS National Championship Game the most prominent annual sporting event not to be shown over broadcast television . Radio . Since 1999 the BCS National Championship Game has been broadcast on ESPN Radio . Related national championship selections . Since there is no NCAA Division I FBS playoff , the BCS National Championship game is one of several national championship selection processes in existence . The American Football Coaches Association ( AFCA ) participate in a weekly Coaches ' Poll published by " USA Today " ; for its final poll of the season , the AFCA is contractually bound to select the BCS National Champion as the national champion Thus , the winner of the game is awarded the AFCA National Championship Trophy in a postgame ceremony . The BCS National Champion is also automatically awarded the National Football Foundation ' s MacArthur Trophy . The Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America are independent and may award their national championship trophies to a school other than the BCS National Championship Game winner .