Of Mathematics and Football
August 11, 2004
PROVIDENCE, RI:
In recent years, controversy has simmered over the way teams are selected for
the NCAA Division I college football championship game. The abstruse method of
choosing teams combines polls and computer rankings, leaving fans and sports
writers scratching their heads. That, combined with the fact that many
high-performing non-BCS teams have never been invited to a Bowl Championship
Series game, has prompted recent changes in the BCS system.
The article "The Bowl Championship Series: A Mathematical Review", written by
an undergraduate math major and two math professors from Georgia Tech, explains
why the BCS has been sensitive to small differences in how various parameters
are weighted in computer rankings and in the "strength of schedule" and
"quality wins" factors, which were removed in the recent changes. The authors
also ask a naive question: Can a collection of trained monkeys come up with a
reasonable BCS ranking? The way the monkeys behave can be captured in a
mathematical model known as a random walk. The results are intriguing and
enlightening.
"The Bowl
Championship Series: A Mathematical Review",
by Thomas Callaghan, Peter J.
Mucha, and Mason A. Porter, appears in the September 2004 issue of the
Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
Contact:
Annette Emerson or Mike Breen, Public Awareness Officers
American Mathematical Society
201 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
Tel: 401-455-4000; Fax: 401-331-3842; Email: paoffice@ams.org
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Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the
29,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through
programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses,
strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of
mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.
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