The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff.
BCS Championship game at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, January 7, 2010, Alabama vs. Texas
LSU vs. Ohio State in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game
Utah Utes fans rush the field and carry the goalpost after defeating rival BYU in November 2004, completing a perfect regular season, and becoming the first BCS Buster by clinching a spot in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl (hence the sombrero).
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivision had avoided using a playoff tournament to determine an annual national champion, which was instead traditionally determined by a vote of sports writers and other non-players. In place of such a playoff, various cities across the United States developed their own regional festivals featuring postseason college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals. Despite attempts to establish a permanent system to determine the FBS national champion on the field, various bowl games continue to be held because of the vested economic interests entrenched in them.
The 2006 Rose Bowl between Texas and USC at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
Members of the national champion 2019 LSU Tigers national championship team are hosted at the White House; quarterback Joe Burrow is shown speaking.
The 1939 Cotton Bowl Classic between St. Mary's and Texas Tech
U.S. President John F. Kennedy (lower left of center) at the 1963 Orange Bowl in Miami