Poll dancing

Rochester-based Harris poll generates controversy in the
college football scene.

Sports

There are few machinations in American sports that create as
much controversy as the ranking of Division I college football’s best teams —
and, in particular, the top two teams.

As public and journalistic demand for the establishment of a
season-ending playoff continues to build, the National Collegiate Athletic
Association remains committed to the Bowl Championship Series, in which three
different ranking systems are used to determine which teams will play in the
four prestigious BCS bowls — Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta — as well as
the national championship game. When the final BCS rankings come out on
December 3, the top two teams will be selected to play in the national title
game.

One ranking system used by the BCS to select the contenders
is a national coaches’ poll. Another is a combination of six computer
standings. The third is the Harris poll, produced by Rochester-based Harris
Interactive, which surveys more than 100 football experts from across the
country. The Harris poll was implemented last season, and in August the BCS and
Harris inked an agreement that makes the poll part of the BCS rankings for four
more years.

Both the BCS and Harris hailed the extension agreement,
saying that the Harris poll will allow the BCS to continue to fairly select the
two teams that will play for the national crown.

Almost immediately after the unveiling of the Harris poll in 2005, fans and journalists starting
howling, arguing that the poll is a non-scientific, subjective ranking system
that can’t select the top two teams with integrity. The Harris poll, they said,
is still fatally subjective and does nothing to quell the controversy that
almost annually swirls around the selection of a national champion.

“The new system isn’t new at all,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden. “It’s a
coat of paint on the old system, nothing more.”

Phil Taylor, Layden’s colleague at
SI, said the Harris poll, like every previous national ranking system, will
prove that it “defies common sense.” Added Matt James, a columnist for
collegefootballpoll.com: “Can anyone seriously believe for a minute that the
‘new BCS’ is better?”

Many critics noted that some of the “experts” selected to
vote in the Harris poll had little or no connection to big-time college
football. The 114 Harris panelists were randomly drawn from a pool of more than
300 candidates submitted by the 11 Division I-A conferences and independent
institutions, like Notre Dame.

Harris released the names of this year’s panelists last
month; the list includes former coaches like John Mackovic,
Earle Bruce, Bill McCartney and George Perles, and
former players including Boomer Esiason, Sammy
Winder, Craig Morton and Tommy Vardell. It also
includes media members and athletic administrators like former Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel.

Each week from September 24 to December 3, all the voters
submit their weekly top 25. Harris then tabulates all 114 rankings into that
week’s final Harris poll.

But critics say that because all 114 panelists compose their
weekly rankings based on their opinions, the Harris poll remains fundamentally
flawed by human bias.

Now, more than a year after the implementation of the Harris poll and following the recent signing of
a contract extension, both the BCS and Harris remain committed to the new
system, and to the Harris poll. BCS spokesperson Charles Bloom told City that
the Harris poll “helps add strength” and “does give credibility” to the BCS
standings.

While Bloom acknowledged that any poll produced by human
beings (as opposed to computers) will always generate some controversy, he
reaffirmed the BCS’ commitment to the new system. “It’s been very well
received,” he said. “In terms of the professionalism of the Harris poll, we’ve
had no criticism.”

Harris Interactive likewise supports its poll. Company vice
president of research Jim Quilty told City that
Harris is “very proud to be part of the formula for determining the teams in
the national championship game.

“The market is viewing our panel as a very credible, viable
poll,” he added. “We’ve received quite a lot of positive comments from
panelists, clients and fans around the country who feel like we’re doing a good
job.”

In fact, Harris has established itself as the 12th largest
and one of the most respected market-research firms in the world. An employer
of roughly 1,000 full-time staffers, it’s the creator of the 43-year-old Harris
Poll, a nationwide sampling of citizens and their opinions on politics, the
economy, foreign affairs, lifestyles and other subjects.

When it comes to the football poll, Quilty
disputed the allegation that many Harris voters aren’t qualified to rank
college football teams. He said the voting panel contains “several extremely
credible names … people who have dedicated their life to college football.”

In fact, last season — the first with the Harris poll —
featured very little controversy when USC and Texas were selected to play in the national
title game. But that was largely because the Trojans and the
Longhorns were the only two remaining undefeated teams and were logical
choices for the marquee match-up.

The real test of the Harris poll will come when there are
three or more undefeated teams left. It might get even stickier if there are no
undefeated schools remaining, leaving the BCS to choose from a pool of teams
with one loss each.

Of course, the vast
majority of critics will never be completely satisfied until all such polls
are abolished and a playoff is created to determine a national champion. The
NCAA features a season-ending playoff or tournament for every other men’s and
women’s sport at all levels, the most famous example being the Division I hoop
tourney, popularly called “March Madness.”

But the current Division I football system still features
major players — such as the dozens of post-season bowl games, advertisers,
and even university administrators — who adamantly oppose the creation of a
playoff. Quite simply, too many people make too much money off the current
system for any type of serious change to take place.

So, at least for the foreseeable future, college football
fans, coaches, players and journalists have to make do with what they’re given
— including the Rochester-based Harris poll, controversial or not.

This article appears in Nov 8-14, 2006.