Bowl eligibility: Difference between revisions

Bowl eligibility in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) College Football is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl eligible". Under current regulations, in order for this to occur, a team must record at least six wins in the standard 12-game schedule, which may include one win against a Division I FCS scholarship-awarding^[1] opponent, and the team must not be on probation. The NCAA allows one victory per season over a Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) team to count toward an FBS team's bowl eligibility, so long as the FCS team has supplied financial aid for football averaging out to at least 56.7 full scholarships (90% of the limit of 63 allowed to FCS schools) over the preceding two years. This prevents teams from scheduling multiple games against FCS teams in an effort to pad their win total, although often, an FCS team in a stronger conference is a better team than a lower-tier FBS conference, or in some occasions, an FBS team in a major conference.

Teams that are bowl eligible will usually either play in one of the bowl games that its conference is affiliated with based on conference tie-ins or the team will be chosen from the pool of remaining bowl eligible teams to fill one of the at-large positions.

On April 26, 2006, the NCAA announced that they were relaxing the rules for eligibility starting with the 2006 season, particularly in light of the new 12 game college football season. Now, teams with .500 records can qualify for bowl games if their conference has a contract with a bowl game. Also, teams with .500 records (i.e. 6-6) could earn bowl bids if all other FBS teams with winning records have been taken and postseason spots still remain vacant. In thirteen-game seasons (used because of conference championship games), a team must win seven games.^[2]

Occasionally there will be more bowl eligible teams than there are spots in the NCAA football bowl games in the season. In these cases, some bowl eligible teams will not be invited to play in any NCAA football bowl game. Two NCAA rules combine to make it unlikely, though possible, that a team with seven wins will be left out of a bowl game:

• Bowl games that have a contract with a conference must select a team with at least seven wins if one is available.
• Any bowl berths not already filled by contract must be filled by a team with seven wins before any spare 6-6 team can be accommodated.

In 2008, these rules affected bowls contracted to the Big 12 and Pac-10, which each had at least one more bowl slot than eligible teams. The same applies to bowls contracted to the SEC. However, in that season, the WAC had a contingency agreement with one of the Pac-10's bowls, specifically the Poinsettia Bowl, providing that the bowl would select a WAC team (ultimately Boise State) if the Pac-10 did not have enough teams to fulfill their bowl contracts. The same contingency agreement applied in that season to the Sun Belt Conference and the Papa John's, Independence & St. Petersburg Bowls.

Like NCAA sports where a tournament determines an automatic conference bid, a team can finish with a losing record (or a winning record but not eligible because of FCS wins) and still appear in a bowl game. A team that wins their conference, regardless of record, is automatically bowl-eligible and is given a waiver of the rule, regardless of record. In college basketball, a team that has a losing record but wins their conference championship is automatically in the tournament.

From the NCAA rules:

30.9.2.1 Exceptions - 12 Game Season. During each year in which an institution is permitted to participate in 12 regular-season football games, an institution with a record of six wins and six losses may be selected for participation in a bowl game if that institution is a member of a conference with which the bowl organization has a contractual affiliation, and there is no other team in that conference qualified for selection per Bylaw 30.9.2. If the conference with which the bowl is affiliated has no other institution that is qualified for selection or a team with a 6-6 record, the bowl may invite a team with a 6-6 regular-season record from another conference with which it does not have an affiliation only if there is no other team with a 7-5 record available in the Division I FBS. Additionally, a bowl game without a conference affiliation may invite any team with a record of six wins and six losses if there is no team with a 7-5 record available in the Division I FBS. During a season in which an institution competes in 13 regular season contests, the institution must establish a record of seven wins, six losses or better to qualify for bowl selection.

Footnote numbers represents season win-loss record • Records as of October 31 • Current total number of bowl eligible teams: 33

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • Georgia Tech 8-1
  • Miami (FL) 6-2
  • Boston College 6-3
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (9)

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • Cincinnati 8-0
  • Pittsburgh 7-1
  • West Virginia 6-2
• Also assured of eligibillity:
  • Winner of the South Florida–Rutgers game on November 12. Both teams will be 6–2 entering the game, with 5 qualifying wins (both have two wins over FCS teams).
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (4)

• Currently eligible (4 teams):
  • Iowa 9-0
  • Penn State 8-1
  • Ohio State 7-2
  • Wisconsin 6-2
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (7)

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • Texas 8-0
  • Oklahoma State 6-2
  • Texas Tech 6-3
• Also assured of eligibility:
  • Winner of the Nebraska–Kansas game on November 14. Both teams are 5–3 with 5 qualifying wins. (Each team can secure eligibility by winning on November 7.)
  • Winner of the Iowa State–Missouri game on November 21. Missouri is 5–3 and Iowa State is 5–4, both with 5 qualifying wins. (Each team has two opportunities to secure eligibility before they meet.)
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (7)

• Currently eligible (1 team):
  • Houston 7-1
• Also assured of eligibility:
  • At least one among East Carolina, Marshall, and Southern Miss. All have 5 qualifying wins. Southern Miss will travel to both of the other teams—Marshall on November 14 and East Carolina on November 28. (Both East Carolina and Marshall have one game remaining before the Southern Miss–Marshall matchup; Southern Miss has a bye week.)
• Cannot become eligible — Rice 0-8
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (9)

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • Central Michigan 7-2
  • Temple 6-2
  • Ohio 6-3
• Cannot become eligible — Akron 1-7, Ball State 1-8, Eastern Michigan 0-8, Miami (OH) 1-8
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (6)

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • TCU 8-0
  • Utah 7-1
  • Brigham Young 6-2
• Cannot become eligible — New Mexico 0-8, loser of the Colorado State–UNLV game on November 7 (both 3–6)
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (4)

• Currently eligible (3 teams):
  • Oregon 7-1
  • California 6-2
  • USC 6-2
• Cannot become eligible — Washington State 1-7
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (6)

• Currently eligible (5 teams):
  • Alabama 8-0
  • Florida 8-0
  • LSU 7-1
  • South Carolina 6-2
  • Auburn 6-3
• Cannot become eligible — Vanderbilt 2-7
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (6)

• Currently eligible (1 team):
  • Troy 6-2
• Cannot become eligible — Western Kentucky 0-8, loser of the North Texas–Florida International game on November 14 (both 2–6)
• Potentially eligible — All remaining teams (6)

• Currently eligible (2 teams):
  • Boise State 8-0
  • Idaho 6-2
• Also assured of eligibility:
  • Winner of the Fresno State–Nevada game on November 14. Both teams are 5–3 with 5 qualifying wins. (Each team can secure eligibility by winning on the weekend of November 7–8.)
• Cannot become eligible:
  • Loser of the Utah State–Hawaiʻi game on November 7 (both 2–6)
  • Loser of the New Mexico State–Hawaiʻi game on November 14 (New Mexico State currently 3–6)
  • Loser of the San José State–Utah State game on November 14 (San José State currently 1–6)
  • Loser of the Hawaiʻi–San José State game on November 21
• All other teams in the conference are potentially bowl eligible.

• Currently eligible (1 team):
  • Notre Dame (6–2)
• Potentially eligible (2 teams):
  • Navy (6–3), although with 6 wins over FBS schools, needs one more win for bowl eligibility. The Midshipmen are playing a 13-game schedule, as allowed under NCAA rules for a team playing at Hawaiʻi.
  • Army (3–5) must win at least three of its remaining four games to become eligible.

• The winner of the Virginia Tech–East Carolina game on November 5 will be assured of bowl eligibility. Both teams are 5–3 with 5 qualifying wins.

• NCAA 2008-09 Postseason Football Handbook