Thursday, September 13, 2007
George Brown was just like any other outraged Auburn football fan at the end of the 2004 season. The Tigers, 12-0 and perfect through the rugged Southeastern Conference, were bypassed for a spot in the national championship game by USC and Oklahoma. Brown decided to do something about it, creating FansPoll.com, a site that allows fans to pick a national champion.
Brown described his invention as an alternative to the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ polls.
“The way we see it is the third element that has been missing,” Brown, Auburn University junior said. “At Neyland Stadium on a given Saturday, Phillip Fulmer is coaching and the reporters are covering the game. They have a say in the rankings. What about the fans? What about the 100,000 people around them that buy the hot dogs and the tickets and currently don’t have a say?”
A prognostication contest throughout the season determines the committee of fans who will ultimately name the FansPoll national champion. Every week, the site selects 10 college football games. Registered users pick the winners of those games. At the end of the year, Brown said this gives the site an idea who is the most qualified fans. They are then put on a selection committee.
The committee selects the National Champion along with about 20 other awards, such as Quarterback of the Year and Coach of the Year.
The site has a weekly Top 25 poll that works like the Electoral College. When users first register, which is free, they are prompted to select their favorite college team. Top 25 poll votes are taken from each fan of each team and combined with cumulative ratings from other schools, to remove bias.
But even the site’s creator doesn’t think voting is the ideal way to crown the national champion.
“The only thing that is fair is a playoff system,” Brown said. “Everyone agrees on this, but until someone who has the power does, you won’t have a playoff system.”
Brown said in the future he’d like to see FansPoll.com rankings alongside the AP and Coaches’ polls.
“I absolutely believe that it has the potential to get there,” Brown said. “We have established our credibility. Fans know what they are talking about.”
Cory Buckingham, Littleton, Colo., junior, said he could accept a fan’s poll next to the traditional rankings.
“I like it in addition to but not in place of the AP and Coaches’ polls,” Buckingham said. “I think fans probably use too much emotion in their voting, but the coaches and writers are set in there ways. Those two polls still have USC at number one, and I don’t agree with that.”
FansPoll awarded Auburn the national championship in 2004, Texas in 2005, and Florida in 2006. Brown personally gave the Fanspoll.com People’s National Champion trophies to Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and Florida coach Urban Meyer.
Brown began the site as a high school senior.
“I have always been a huge fan of college football,” Brown said. “It’s something that is a big part of people’s lives. I know it’s just a game, but it is something that we take seriously. And I think we deserve to play a part in it.”
Buckingham grabbed the opportunity to play a part. He said he would rank the Jayhawks 25th in his first poll.
— Edited by Meghan Murphy
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