Notre Dame and the BCS: The “Notre Dame Rule”

With Independence Day upon us, some college football fans have difficulty in swallowing an independent Notre Dame. The cartel that is the BCS —a conglomeration of the biggest bowls and the biggest conferences—succeeds in siphoning more money into their teams’ coffers. Meanwhile, some delusional non-Irish fans think that somehow, someway Notre Dame has a BCS “rule” that bestows preferential treatment. Nothing is further from the truth. Fallacy #1: “Notre Dame is preferred in the BCS selection process.” Notre Dame is guaranteed a BCS selection if they finish in the top eight in the final poll. To guarantee themselves a BCS game, ND must finish higher than some conference champions each year. In the eleven-year history of the BCS, nineteen BCS conference champions have finished below the top eight teams. Here they are: 2008-09: Cincinnati (#12), Virginia Tech (#19) 2007-08: West Virginia (#9), Hawaii (#10), Illinois (#13) 2006-07: Oklahoma ... (link)