NCAA- The National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is the governing body of all American university athletics affiliated with its four football divisions. In regards to college football, NCAA football is the premier breeding ground for professional football in both the National Football League (NFL) and the rapidly growing Arena Football League (AFL). The premier NCAA football conferences currently operate on a ranking system known as the BCS (Bowl Championship Series), which is based on the polling of industry professionals (coaches, analysts) and computer generated figures.

There are quite literally hundreds of teams that fall into the jurisdiction of the NCAA, yet there are a few conferences that qualify for the BCS. The singular goal of the BCS is to determine the best college football team in America. However, the current system has fallen into great criticism since its inception. Critics are calling for development of a playoff system that is more similar to the NFL.

Like the NFL, the NCAA is divided into conferences; however, athletic conferences in the collegiate world are seemingly innumerable when considering NCAA football with additional playing classes of Divisions I, II and III. Some of these conferences include up to 12 teams, generally in the same geographic region. For example, the SEC (Southeastern Conference) consists of 12 teams that are divided into an East and West division throughout the U.S.' southeast region. This is unlike the Big 10, which consists of 10 teams that have no inter-conference divisions. Both conferences are considered some of the top athletic conferences in the NCAA.

The end of the college season is highlighted by a series of championship Bowls to determine the final rankings of a season, including a national collegiate champion. Currently, the BCS rankings determine several of the Bowl match-ups. The Rose Bowl, hosted annually in Pasadena, CA on New Year's Day, offers a clash of the top team in the Big 10 conference vs. the top team in the PAC-10 conference. As much as this is the goal with the current BCS system in place, the season may not lend itself to the two top teams competing.

Regardless of NCAA football logistics, one thing has continued to remain consistent for decades: The atmosphere of a college game is incomparable! Stadium capacities topping 100,000, live marching bands, students who seemingly bleed the colors of their alma mater and are always looking for the next great reason to storm the field, the NCAA possesses a fan base that is just as turned on by the most elite amateur athletes in the world as they are by Sunday afternoon's best.