Abstract
Opinions from the various stakeholders of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), such as conference commissioners, university presidents/chancellors, bowl executives, and coaches, are numerous and well documented by the popular media since the establishment of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1998. The public discourse offered by the various popular media sources significantly influenced the behaviors and perspectives of others on the prospects of a Division I FBS playoff before the BCS. Few academic and historical reviews of the core event stakeholders (i.e., athletic directors, coaches, and players) involved with the playoff debate have been formally organized prior to the establishment of the BCS. This research effort analyzed the public discourse generated by the core event stakeholders from 1960 to 1998 and compared the rationale of those supporting a Division I FBS playoff versus those arguments which created a specific culture overtime to prevent the facilitation of a national elimination tournament. Finally, this work discusses whether these anti-playoff concerns, still advocated today, are legitimate.
Recommended Citation
Seifried, Chad
(2012)
"Reviewing the Public Discourse of the Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision) Playoff Issue Pre-BCS: A Historical Analysis of Core Event Stakeholder Perspectives,"
Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics: Vol. 5, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/jiia/vol5/iss1/6