Following the 1999 college football regular season, the Bowl Championship Series will once again determine the National Championship.
The BCS consists of the Rose Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The conferences with automatic berths include the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conferences.
ABC-TV will televise the four Bowl Championship Series games.
The Bowl Championship Series guarantees a matchup between college football's top two teams in a true national championship game.
Any Division I-A independent team or champion of the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West Conference or any other Division I-A conference which is ranked sixth or higher in the BCS standings, will also be eligible for the Bowl Championship Series.
Otherwise, any Division I-A team can qualify for selection in the BCS if they have won at least 9 college football games during the most recently completed regular season (not to include wins in exempted games) and are ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.
Also, beginning with the 1999 regular season, each BCS conference is subject to review and possible loss of automatic selection by the BCS should the conference champion not have an average ranking of 12 or higher over a four-year period.
At the conclusion of the 1999 regular season, the Nokia Sugar Bowl will host the National Championship contest. The game will be played on Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET in New Orleans, La. The Nokia Sugar Bowl shall select the top two teams ranked in the BCS final regular season standings.
The BCS uses regional consideration regarding team selection. Specifically, as a member of the BCS, the Rose Bowl will host the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions in those years in which either the Rose Bowl does not have the national championship game or the Big Ten and Pac-10 champion is not ranked No. 1 or No. 2. Other "regional consideration" tie-ins include the SEC champion in the Sugar Bowl, the ACC or Big East champion in the Orange Bowl and the Big 12 champion in the Fiesta Bowl.
Other BCS games following the 1999 regular season include the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET, the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET.
(NOTE - New information for 1999 is underlined.)