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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was implemented |
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in 1998 as a means to organize postseason play in college football |
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and to decide the sport's national championship; it is intended to |
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showcase the nation's top teams in prestigious bowl games and to |
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match the two finest teams in a national championship contest, but |
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throughout the period it has been in existence, the BCS has fallen |
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short of those goals time and again; and |
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WHEREAS, At the heart of the system are the BCS standings that |
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designate the top teams and ultimately determine the two that will |
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battle for the national crown; these ratings are decided by a |
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complex system that is mystifying to even the most ardent fans, |
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combining six different computer rankings as well as polls of |
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college coaches, sports reporters, and other authorities on the |
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game; all too often, the outcome of this process has resulted in |
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questionable bowl-game selections; and |
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WHEREAS, In more than half of the 11 years that the BCS has |
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been used to determine the national championship, controversy has |
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surrounded the selection of the two title contenders, including |
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well-documented incidents during the 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, and |
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2007 seasons; and |
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WHEREAS, The year 2008 saw a continuation of the BCS |
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shortcomings, and these were especially harmful to teams from the |
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Lone Star State; The University of Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech |
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Red Raiders both finished the regular season with 11-1 records, |
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equaling other top-rated teams in the nation, yet both were denied a |
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shot at the national title because of the arcane BCS scoring system; |
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when the ratings were tallied at the end of November, the University |
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of Oklahoma, also 11-1, edged ahead of the two Texas teams by a |
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miniscule margin; according to the Big 12 tie-breaking rules, this |
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gave the Sooners the conference's South title, despite the fact |
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that UT had beaten Oklahoma in their head-to-head matchup in |
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October; ultimately, Oklahoma landed a spot in the national |
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championship game while the Longhorns and Red Raiders had to settle |
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for lesser postseason matchups; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas Tech suffered further injustice because it was |
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prevented from competing in one of the top-tier bowl games that are |
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part of the BCS system, an outcome that resulted from a rule |
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allowing only two schools from the same conference to compete in the |
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BCS games; with Texas and Oklahoma claiming those spots, Texas Tech |
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ended up in the non-BCS Cotton Bowl; and |
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WHEREAS, Another Texas college team that was disappointed by |
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the BCS system in the most recent college season was Texas Christian |
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University, which posted an impressive 10-2 record and was rated |
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11th in the nation, yet was relegated to the Poinsettia Bowl, |
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another game outside the premier BCS events; and |
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WHEREAS, Teams from other states were likewise snubbed by the |
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flawed design of the Bowl Championship Series; the most striking |
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examples are the University of Utah and Boise State University; |
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both went undefeated in the 2008 regular season but were not given a |
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spot in the national championship game because of the machinations |
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of the BCS system; and |
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WHEREAS, Numerous members of the sports media as well as |
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other prominent figures have long promoted a postseason playoff as |
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an alternative to the BCS system; though differing plans have been |
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put forth, all of them place a greater emphasis on face-to-face |
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matchups to crown a national champion, rather than relying on the |
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vagaries of polls and computer ratings; such a design would bring |
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college football into line with the other major sports on the |
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college and professional level, nearly all of which employ a |
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playoff system; further, the playoff format would introduce a |
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greater degree of fairness than is found under the current system |
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and result in compelling games that would thrill football fans |
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throughout the nation; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the presidents of the public universities |
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in Texas and the Big 12 Conference commissioner to work to promote |
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the institution of a playoff system to decide the national |
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championship in college football in place of the current Bowl |
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Championship Series; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the presidents of the public |
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universities in Texas and to the Big 12 commissioner. |