Charlotte Paper Pulls Out of College Football Poll

By: Joe Strupp The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer will no longer participate in The Associated Press's college football poll, the paper announced, citing its ?potential for abuse? as part of the controversial Bowl Championship Series system that chooses the college football post-season championship game participants.

The newspaper?s move, revealed in a column by Sports Editor Mike Persinger Friday, is the second time in less than a week that a newspaper has made news related to its part in the bowl selections. Last Wednesday, Editor Melinda Gorham of The Huntsville (Ala.) Times was forced to apologize to readers after sportswriter Paul Gattis wrote an angry column explaining why he voted the University of Oklahoma No. 1 in the AP poll, instead of local favorite Auburn. Gattis? piece drew a slew of angry reaction from readers.

The BCS system combines elements of several writers? and coaches? polls, as well as rankings determined by strength of schedule and a computer program, to choose the best two teams in the country. Since its inception several years ago, the BCS has drawn criticism by those who contend it does not do enough to provide a bona fide champion and should be replaced by a playoff system.

This year, the complaints have been boosted more than ever with four undefeated teams ?- Auburn, Oklahoma, USC and Utah ?- claiming a chance at the title game, in which Oklahoma and USC will play at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 4.

?The BCS is a mess, and as long as The Associated Press football poll is part of the problem, the Observer has cast its last vote,? Persinger wrote in a column declaring the paper?s decision. ?The credibility of this newspaper is more important than the prestige of voting in the AP poll.?

Persinger cited the effort by University of Texas coach Mack Brown to openly lobby for votes after Texas beat Texas A&M on Thanksgiving.

?Texas fans took it from there,? Persinger explained in his column. ?They bombarded AP voters, including the Observer's [sportswriter and AP poll voter] Ken Tysiac, with e-mails imploring them to change their votes. Some were eloquent, many were insulting. Tysiac didn't change, but others did.?

One Alabama writer, Persinger said, received an ?e-mail bombardment? and then moved Texas from ninth to fifth. He added that writers from three Texas papers ?- The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Austin American-Statesman ?- also gave Texas higher marks after being pressured, while lowering the ranking for the University of California.

?In the end, Texas moved up in the Bowl Championship Series standings, on the strength of its movement in the AP poll and a slight improvement in the computer rankings,? Persinger wrote. ?The difference in payouts? The Rose Bowl, where Texas will play, pays $7 million to $8.5 million per team. The Holiday, where Cal was relegated, pays $1 million per team.?

?With that kind of money at stake, the potential for abuse is great, and even though Tysiac's top seven teams stayed the same before and after lobbying by Brown and Texas fans -- and the Observer published his votes each week all season for the sake of accountability -- the mess calls the polling process into question,? he added.