Kansas State 2000 Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) BCS and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg was notified by letter Monday night that the AP has pulled its football poll from being used by the BCS to select the teams for the national title game and the three other BCS bowls. The move begins next season. Weiberg released a statement saying he is confident the BCS will find a viable alternative for the debut of the '05 ratings, which are first released in October. Sources said the decision by AP was made over the head of sports editor Terry Taylor. Weiberg was traveling and unavailable for comment. The eight teams selected for the four major bowls -- Orange, Rose, Sugar, and Fiesta -- are picked by the BCS, which uses a combination of the AP poll (voted on by writers and broadcasters), the coaches poll and several computer rankings. Each segment receives a one-third weighting in picking the teams. The AP said such use was never sanctioned and had reached the point where it threatened to undermine the independence and integrity of the poll. The AP sent BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg a cease-and-desist letter, dated Dec. 21, stating that use of the poll is unlawful and harms the AP's reputation. "We respect the decision of the Associated Press to no longer have its poll included in the BCS standings," Weiberg said in a statement Tuesday. "Since the inception of the BCS, the AP poll has been part of our standings. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from the organization in providing rankings on a weekly basis. We will discuss alternatives to the Associated Press poll at the upcoming BCS meetings and plan to conclude our evaluation of the BCS standings formula, including any other possible changes, by our April meeting." In its letter, the AP said some of its poll voters had indicated they might no longer participate because of concerns over having their reporters be so closely involved in the process of determining which teams play where. "By stating that the AP poll is one of the three components used by BCS to establish its rankings, BCS conveys the impression that AP condones or otherwise participates in the BCS system," the letter said. "Furthermore, to the extent that the public does not fully understand the relationship between BCS and AP, any animosity toward BCS may get transferred to AP. And to the extent that the public has equated or comes to equate the AP poll with the BCS rankings, the independent reputation of the AP poll is lost." LINK Edited December 22, 2004 by Kansas State 2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Interesting. That'll throw a wrench into things. From the similar ESPN article: "Where the BCS goes from here won't be determined for a while, but recently Weiberg and Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese have said the BCS would look into the possibility of using a selection committee to create the bowl matchups, much like the NCAA Division I basketball tournament." One step towards a tournament? (Not holding my breathe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Miscreant Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Who cares? Didn't they already annoint USC National Champions last year, regardless of the BCS standings. I'd love to believe this break down in BCS solidarity is a step toward a playoff system but what we have now is no different than what we always had pre-BCS. UPI and AP Coaches poll and AP BCS and AP The more things change, the more they stay the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiL10(s)ArEaJoKe Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I just wonder if alot of the AP folks (californians maily) were so upset that UT went to the Rose over Cal that they made a very very very hasty and judgemental decision??? Well Cal deserved what they got!!!!!! Their butts handed to em by the 4th best team in the Big 12 south.... Hell they (AP) handed USC part of LSU's title last year??? so why not just walk away when one of your boys gets left out in the cold again!!!! All TT did was prove that Cal DID NOT belong in the Rose Bowl! Wonder how that shiat decision they made tastes now???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Why is the AP just figuring this out now??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWPFFL BrianW Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 LSU got a piece of USC's title. The coaches had to vote for LSU because of a binding contract. USC was #1 in BOTH polls. As for Cali proving they didn't deserve to be there, I completely agree, just like Texas proved they didn't belong last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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