The previous rating system included five components: the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule, team record and a quality win factor. Under the new system, which was unanimously approved by the 11 Division I-A commissioners, Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, the BCS Athletic Director Advisory Committee and the Presidential Oversight Committee, a team will have a "percentage" score from each of the three components. These percentages will be averaged to determine a team's BCS ranking.
In the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, the formula will no longer average the weekly rank of each team. Instead a team will be evaluated on the number of voting points it receives in each poll. A team's AP score will be its points in the poll divided by a possible 1800 voting points. The same formula will apply to the USA Today/ESPN poll and its 1500 voting points.
Six computer rankings have been retained for 2004: Jeff Sagarin, whose rankings are published in USA Today, Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey and Dr. Peter Wolfe. The New York Times, which participated in 2003, withdrew. A team's highest and lowest computer ranking will be discarded from figuring a team's computer poll average. Points will be assigned in inverse order of ranking from 1-25. The four remaining computer scores will be averaged and the total will be calculated as a percentage of 100.
"It was apparent to us that just using the average rankings of the polls was not an adequate comparison of the level of voting support for each team," Weiberg said. "A top-ranked team could be one point ahead of the second-ranked team, or it could be 200 points ahead. Using the actual voting points in the formula allows for a more accurate ranking in the BCS poll. This is especially important when there is marginal separation between a No. 2 and No. 3 team."