The Harris Interactive College Football Poll was one of the key components of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings between 2005 and 2013. The poll was introduced to replace the AP Poll in the BCS formula and was designed to provide a statistically representative view of the college football landscape through a diverse panel of experts.
For readers unfamiliar with how the standings system originally came together, the BCS history and origins page covers the formation of the BCS structure and why components like the Harris Poll were added.
The 2006 Harris Interactive Poll marked its second year of use as part of the BCS formula. The rankings it produced accounted for one-third of each team’s official BCS score, alongside the USA Today Coaches Poll and the computer rankings.
📋 Composition of the 2006 Harris Poll Panel
In 2006, Harris Interactive, a well-known research organization based in Rochester, New York, selected 114 panelists to participate. The panel included:
- Former college coaches and players
- Athletic administrators
- Sports journalists and broadcasters
- Conference officials and independent representatives
These individuals were randomly chosen from a pool of over 300 nominees submitted by the 11 Division I-A (now FBS) conferences and independent programs, such as Notre Dame, Army, and Navy.
The selection process ensured statistical reliability and balanced representation from all major conferences and independent institutions.
🧮 Role in the BCS Formula
The 2006 BCS standings were based on three equally weighted components:
- Harris Interactive College Football Poll – representing expert human opinion
- USA Today Coaches Poll – reflecting the votes of active FBS coaches
- Computer Rankings Average – six independent computer models evaluating schedule strength and performance (Anderson & Hester, Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Massey, Sagarin, and Wolfe)
Each team’s BCS score was calculated as the average percentage of possible points from these three sources. The two highest-ranked teams in the final standings earned invitations to the BCS National Championship Game.
🗓️ Release Schedule
- First Poll Release: September 24, 2006
- First BCS Standings: October 15, 2006
- Final Poll: December 3, 2006
Weekly Harris Poll results were published online throughout the regular season.
However, individual ballots were kept confidential until the final rankings were released — ensuring transparency at the end of the season while protecting panelist independence during weekly voting.
👥 Notable Participants (2006 Panel Snapshot)
The 2006 Harris Poll panel featured many recognizable names from the world of college football, including:
- Boomer Esiason – former quarterback and national broadcaster
- Earle Bruce – former Ohio State head coach
- Bobby Aillet, Doug Dickey, Mike McGee, and Bill Dooley – longtime coaches and athletic directors
- Jake Crouthamel and Gene Corrigan – influential former conference administrators
These participants represented decades of collective football experience, ensuring the poll reflected expertise from across the sport’s history.
📊 Legacy
The Harris Interactive Poll became a cornerstone of the BCS system during its later years, offering a broad and balanced approach to ranking college football teams.
Although the College Football Playoff system later replaced the BCS after the 2013 season, the Harris Poll remains notable for its attempt to combine expert human judgment with data-driven computation — a format that influenced the selection committee model used today.
For a broader look at how the postseason continued to evolve after the BCS era, see the future of the BCS and postseason evolution and how those changes shaped today’s championship format.
As ranking systems like the Harris Interactive Poll helped define the competitive structure of the BCS era, national honors continued to highlight individual excellence across the sport, as reflected in the wide range of NCAA college football awards that commemorate standout performances each season.
