BCS National Championship Game facts for kids

The BCS National Championship was a special American football game played every year. It brought together the two best college football teams in the United States to decide who was the national champion. This game was the grand finale of something called the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

The game always took place in early January. The location changed each year, moving to different big stadiums across the country. The team that won the championship received a cool trophy that looked like a glass football.

What Was the BCS National Championship?

The BCS National Championship was the biggest game in college football for many years. It was created to help decide which team was the best in the country. Before this game, it was sometimes hard to know who the true champion was because different polls might pick different teams.

How Did the BCS Work?

The BCS system used a mix of different things to pick the two best teams. It looked at:

• Coaches' Poll: Where coaches voted for the teams they thought were best.
• Harris Interactive Poll: Where sports writers and broadcasters voted.
• Computer Rankings: Special computer programs looked at how teams played, who they beat, and how strong their opponents were.

All these scores were put together to create a final ranking. The top two teams in this ranking got to play in the BCS National Championship game.

When Did It Happen?

The BCS National Championship game was played every year from the 1998 season until the 2013 season. The very last game was played in January 2014. After that, a new system called the College Football Playoff took its place.

The Championship Trophy

The team that won the BCS National Championship received a unique trophy. It was made of crystal and shaped like a football. It was a symbol of being the top college football team in the nation for that year.

Images for kids

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  The view from the 50-yard line for the 2010 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California (Alabama vs. Texas)

See also

In Spanish: BCS National Championship Game para niños