| BCS National Championship Game | |
| Image Size: | 200 |
| Stadium: | Four-year rotation between: State Farm Stadium Caesars Superdome Hard Rock Stadium Rose Bowl |
| Previous Stadiums: | Sun Devil Stadium (1999, 2003) |
| Location: | Four-year rotation between: Glendale, Arizona New Orleans, Louisiana Miami Gardens, Florida Pasadena, California |
| Previous Locations: | Tempe, Arizona (1999, 2003) |
| Years: | 1999–2014 |
| Preceded By: | Bowl Alliance (1995–97) Bowl Coalition (1992–94) |
| Succeeded By: | College Football Playoff National Championship (2015) |
| Payout: | 23,900,000 (2014 game[1]) |
| Sponsors: | Tostitos (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011), Nokia (2000, 2004), FedEx (2001, 2005, 2009), AT&T (2002), Allstate (2008, 2012), Citi (2006, 2010), Discover (2013), Vizio (2014) |
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season as a standalone event rotated among the host sites of the aforementioned bowls.
The game was organized by a group known as the Bowl Championship Series, consisting of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Orange Bowl, which sought to match the two highest-ranked teams in a championship game to determine the best team in the country at the end of the season. The participating teams were determined by averaging the results of the final weekly Coaches' Poll, the Harris Poll of media, former players and coaches, and the average of six computer rankings. The Coaches' Poll was contractually required to name the winner of the game as its No. 1 team on the final postseason ranking; hence, the AFCA National Championship Trophy was presented to the winning team during a post-game ceremony.
The methodologies of the BCS system and its selections proved to be controversial. Although in most years the winner of the BCS National Championship would also be designated as the national champion by other organizations and polls (such as the Associated Press poll), the 2003 season was a major exception, as the BCS rankings chose the AP's No. 3-ranked team, the University of Oklahoma, over the No. 1-ranked team in that poll, the University of Southern California, to participate in the national title game (the Sugar Bowl) despite Oklahoma's loss to Kansas State University in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. That was the only season during the BCS era when the national championship was split, with Louisiana State University winning the BCS national championship and the University of Southern California winning the AP national championship, plus the football writers' national championship.
The BCS National Championship Game was played for the final time in 2013 after the same organizing group established a new system, the College Football Playoff, a four-team single elimination tournament, as the successor to the BCS.
The first BCS Championship was played at the conclusion of the 1998 college football season in accordance with an agreement by the Big Ten Conference, the Pac-10 Conference, and the Rose Bowl Game to join the "Bowl Alliance" system. The expanded format was called the Bowl Championship Series.
The Bowl Alliance and its predecessor, the Bowl Coalition, featured championship games in the 1992–1997 seasons. However, these could not always ensure a matchup between the top two ranked teams because of the lack of participation by the Big Ten and Pac-10.
The BCS National Championship Game was initially rotated among the four participating bowl games: the Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Rose Bowl. However, beginning with the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game was added as a separate contest, played after New Year's Day. The game rotated its location among the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, and Rose venues.
| Season | Date | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Bowl Game | Site | Attendance[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | January 4, 1999 | 1 Tennessee SEC Champions | 23–16 | 2 Florida State ACC Co-Champions | 1999 Fiesta Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona | 80,470 | |
| 1999 | January 4, 2000 | 1 Florida State ACC Champions | 46–29 | 2 Virginia Tech Big East Champions | 2000 Sugar Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans | 79,280 | |
| 2000 | January 3, 2001 | 1 Oklahoma Big 12 Champions | 13–2 | 2 Florida State ACC Champions | 2001 Orange Bowl | Pro Player Stadium Miami | 76,835 | |
| 2001 | January 3, 2002 | 1 Miami (FL) Big East Champions | 37–14 | 2 Nebraska At-large | 2002 Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | 93,781 | |
| 2002 | January 3, 2003 | 2 Ohio State Big Ten Co-Champions | 31–24 (2OT) | 1 Miami (FL) Big East Champions | 2003 Fiesta Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona | 77,502 | |
| 2003 | January 4, 2004 | 2 LSU SEC Champions | 21–14 | 1 Oklahoma At-large | 2004 Sugar Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans | 79,342 | |
| 2004 | January 4, 2005 | 1 USC Pac-10 Champions* | 55–19 | 2 Oklahoma Big 12 Champions | 2005 Orange Bowl | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | 77,912 | |
| 2005 | January 4, 2006 | 2 Texas Big 12 Champions | 41–38 | 1 USC Pac-10 Champions | 2006 Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, California | 93,986 | |
| 2006 | January 8, 2007 | 2 Florida SEC Champions | 41–14 | 1 Ohio State Big Ten Champions | 2007 BCS National Championship Game | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona | 74,628 | |
| 2007 | January 7, 2008 | 2 LSU SEC Champions | 38–24 | 1 Ohio State Big Ten Champions | 2008 BCS National Championship Game | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans | 79,651 | |
| 2008 | January 8, 2009 | 2 Florida SEC Champions | 24–14 | 1 Oklahoma Big 12 Champions | 2009 BCS National Championship Game | Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | 78,468 | |
| 2009 | January 7, 2010 | 1 Alabama SEC Champions | 37–21 | 2 Texas Big 12 Champions | 2010 BCS National Championship Game | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | 94,906 | |
| 2010 | January 10, 2011 | 1 Auburn SEC Champions | 22–19 | 2 Oregon Pac-10 Champions | 2011 BCS National Championship Game | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona | 78,603 | |
| 2011 | January 9, 2012 | 2 Alabama At-large | 21–0 | 1 LSU SEC Champions | 2012 BCS National Championship Game | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana | 78,237 | |
| 2012 | January 7, 2013 | 2 Alabama SEC Champions | 42–14 | 1 Notre Dame^ Independent | 2013 BCS National Championship Game | Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | 80,120 | |
| 2013 | January 6, 2014 | 1 Florida State ACC Champions | 34–31 | 2 Auburn SEC Champions | 2014 BCS National Championship Game | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | 94,208 |
^Notre Dame's loss in the 2012 BCS national title game was later vacated due to the use of Ineligible players
.