The
Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created five bowl game match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA
Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of
college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the
BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the
College Football Playoff. The four-team playoffs consist of two semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the
College Football Playoff National Championship. If New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the traditional New Year's Day games are played on January 2 in deference to the
National Football League's week 17 games. In June 2012, the BCS conference presidents approved the
College Football Playoff to replace the Bowl Championship Series. Three bowls—
Rose,
Sugar, and
Orange—because of their contracts with
Power Five conferences, were selected to be part of the rotating semifinal playoff games, with three more bowls to be named. Four first-round games, added to the expanded playoff and to be held before the six bowls, are contested at campus sites. ==Former bowl game conference tie-ins==