The BCS has informed us of the playoff problem.  One issue with this site is that is is as biased as Playoff PAC's What's Wrong with the BCS.  The fact is that their are real world constraints on any postseason design and those should be examined as fully as possible.

The real shame is that the BCS is currently trowing a smoke screen in front of the real issues to prevent them from being examined rather than fostering actual innovation.  What is needed is concise descriptions of the actual isssues involved.

I am not the first to undertake this task.  Much of the format of this presentation is derived from that of the Enhanced Bowl System.  In addition to the issues listed at all three sites linked above I have also included other issues my own research has uncovered.

With this collection of issues it became apparent that some form of ordering is necessary.  Pragmatic considerations tempered with mild idealism left me with the following order of the importance of each principle party in the discussion:

1. the student athletes and coaches
   
2. the NCAA
3. the universities and conferences
4. the bowls
5. TV networks
6. the fans

The constraints are then listed in the order of the most significant party that has a differing view on the significance of that constraint.

Possible values for the view of a given ideal:

&: Strongly hold this ideal
  : Indifferent towards this ideal
X: Opposed to this ideal

I will be examining each of these issues one at a time each Saturday through the off season and will link each article here as they are posted.  This will include a summary of what I mean by each, why I feel the opinions above are accurate and how various alternatives measure up.  The alternatives I will examine are:

1. the bowl system without the BCS
2. the current system
3. my tier based plus-one
4. my full design
5. the MWC proposal
6. the Enhanced Bowl System
7. the Wetzel plan

When these real world constraints are properly arranged three of these alternatives provide more value than the current system does.  They are not the old bowl system, MWC proposal or the Wetzel plan.