Editorial: True test for a champion

Thursday, March 23, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

The NCAA Tournament resumes today, with the original 65-team field having been whittled down to the Sweet 16 after two rounds of play. Many of the games involving the best men's college basketball teams in the country have been exciting, and there have been a number of upset wins along the way. In its region, 11th-seed George Mason has advanced, beating perennial top teams Michigan State and North Carolina. Bradley, a 13th seed in its region, has beaten Kansas and Pittsburgh.

It has been fun to watch the underdogs from smaller conferences, which often are ignored by the media during the regular season, take it to the teams from the older conferences that usually get all the hype. The underdogs that have made it this far still may wilt, but at least they have been given an opportunity to display their talents - something that can't be said for Division I college football, which doesn't have a playoff system. College football instead relies on silly polls and computer rankings to determine which two teams play in a bowl game to determine the so-called "national champion."

The college presidents from the major conferences have kept the bowl system in place for football because it's a financial windfall for them. They benefit since the system they've devised has effectively kept teams from smaller conferences from being considered for major bowl bids. We can only hope that the continuing popularity of the NCAA Tournament and public pressure force them to relent and let the national football championship be decided on the field through a playoff system.