College football is one of the most lucrative and popular sports in America. With 129 participating colleges and universities at the highest level of competitive amateur football, Division 1-A, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has become one of the more profitable organizations in sports. The inclusion of postseason bowl games extends the fall for football fans around the country. And since football season is nearly over, let’s take a look at how postseason play has evolved over the years.

Since the early 1900s postseason bowl games were a given for universities like University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of Southern California, and many more. The oldest one, the Rose Bowl, or previously known as the “Tournament East-West Game,” originated in 1902 when several individuals introduced this contest to go alongside the annual Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, CA. From that year forward, the Rose Bowl Game has always been played on New Year’s Day.

After the stadium in Pasadena was built, it generated more interest in postseason college football nationwide. Soon after, the Sugar, Festival of Palms or Orange, Sun, Cotton and Bacardi bowls were founded. By the late 1930s there were six bowl games on the New Year’s calendar. Initially, the NCAA was opposed to the idea of postseason competitions (bowls) because they “serve no sound educational ends, and such promotions merely trade upon intercollegiate football for commercial purposes.” Contrary to their opinion, this was just the beginning of the development and generation of bowl games.

During the 60s, the Associated Press began releasing final standings after all bowl games were played. This molded the six main bowls (listed above) into sites to crown “a mythical national champion.” The arrival of television coverage and media rights also came into play during the 60s. Because bowl directors were offering large amounts of money to schools to appear in their bowls, they required larger revenues. To resolve this, they welcomed the idea of corporate sponsorships in the 80s. Some of the New Year’s Day bowls then turned into what we know today as the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Discover Orange Bowl, etc.

Despite the great feedback the bowls received, fans across the country wanted collegiate football to crown one school as the national football champion. To combat this, the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange bowls came together and launched the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) “to match two of the country’s top teams in a single national championship game.” The Series comprised of five bowl game match-ups involving 10 top ranked teams in NCAA Division 1-A, including the opportunity for the two top teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The BCS leaned on a sequence of polls and computer selection methods to determine relative team rankings and to narrow the field to two teams to play in the National Championship Game.

The BCS stood from 1998-2013, proving its selection process able to withstand changes as time and technology progressed.

The 2014 season brought about change and introduced the College Football Playoff Era. The CFP is the first time an NCAA National Football Champion was decided by a bracket competition. It is comprised of three games, two semi-finals and one national championship. A 13-member committee selects and seeds the four teams to take part in the playoffs. This selection process contrasts that of the BCS because instead of using polls or computer rankings, it utilizes the Plus One system.

The Plus One system is supported by many because it doesn’t significantly prolong the season for players and coaches. In the system, each team is assigned to a playoff; the one seed plays the four seed and the two seed plays the three seed. The winners of both matches advance to the national championship game. This way, the entire season, more or less, keeps its length and only adds one additional game, hence the system’s name, Plus One.

Given its recent success, many believe the College Football Playoff will develop into a larger postseason tournament with 8, 12, or 16 teams. This would generate more money for the NCAA and provide more entertainment for the public. However, adding more teams would probably extend the football season, which is a unique feature the Plus One system does not house.

Succeeding two great semi-final games this past weekend, the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia will compete in the College Football Playoff Championship Game on January 8.