Wasn't there a time when Texas Christian University went undefeated but was denied a BCS game because they were not considered a BCS team?

Answer 1

Since the BCS was introduced in 1998, TCU has not gone undefeated. In the 2003 season they were 11-1 at bowl selection time, having won their first 10 games before suffering their only loss to Southern Mississippi. They were ranked 18th in the BCS polls. The reason they weren't ranked higher is because they were playing in the Conference USA football conference (considered a mid-major) which did not have many good teams therefore, TCU couldn't accumulate BCS points for playing a difficult schedule. In the 2005 season, TCU wound up the regular season at 10-1, winning their last 9 games. They were, as they are currently, a member of the Mountain West Conference (another mid-major) and, similar to 2003, did not qualify for a BCS bowl. Rules for selecting BCS bowl teams changed with the 2006 season. Now, should the conference champion from Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, or Western Athletic Conferences be A) ranked in the top 12 in the final BCS standings, or B) ranked among the top 16 teams in the final BCS Standings and ranked higher than the champion of one of the conferences whose champion has an annual automatic berth in a BCS bowl, that team will qualify for a BCS bowl game. Had the above rules been in effect in 2005, TCU would have qualified for a BCS bowl.