[Editor's note: This is part of a series examining the real world constraints on any proposed postseason design. For the previous entries is is best to start at the introduction of the series. This is derived from pages 90 and 91 of my plan to fix the BCS]

The controversy surrounding the BCS has become toxic. The two primary sources of controversy relevant to a tournament are the failure to give all teams a chance to earn a national championship and having to choose between arbitrarily close teams at the #2 and #3 spot. Moving this to a lower spot actually decreases the consensus of the selection and increases the number of teams claiming they were deserving of a spot.

The old bowl system avoided this by not even pretending to be interested in determining a true national champion. If more games could claim to be a part of the championship picture the better for them all.

Undefeated teams can be managed by requiring any tournament to select undefeated teams prior to teams with a loss. At least five spots would be needed to cover the past twelve years.

Only using gaps instead of a set cutoff addresses the cutoff consensus issue.

Old Bowl System

The old bowl system thrived in controversy and used it to add value to more games by being able to claim that each had a potential for shaping the national championship outcome.

BCS

The BCS creates controversy by claiming to present a national championship game that is widely disputed. Selections of the teams and omission of undefeated teams are two persistent sources of controversy.

At large berths out of order relative to the BCS's own standings are also a source of mild controversy.

A Tier Based Plus-One

This design would reduce controversy in the championship and increase the controversy of the selection process by expanding the field.

The qualifications for two bowl games are concrete and accessible to all teams. With the current volume of bowls all teams eligible for two bowls would be expected to be selected by two bowls, even if they are not selected for a first round game.

A Flexible Championship System

This design was formed to minimize sources of controversy in the selection process. It gets the teams right, while risking controversy in the bracketing, particularly among the bye determinations.

MWC Proposal

The number of undefeated teams left out would be significantly reduced. The controversy over the selection of teams would be dependent on the public opinion of the selection committee. The choices would be more difficult than the current options.

Enhanced Bowl Season

This design increases the net controversy for clarity over the national champion.

The Wetzel Plan

A sixteen team tournament with five at large teams would significantly reduce the controversy over the champion while magnifying the selection controversy.