Kevin Weiberg, the Big 12 conference commissioner who also served as Bowl Championship Series coordinator this year, announced in July that his sweeping changes to the system were supposed to finally crown an equitable Division I-A college football champion.

But the system is no better now, 10 years after a 12-0 Penn State team was denied a share of the title with 13-0 Nebraska in the Associated Press and Coaches' polls -- despite a much stronger schedule and a thrilling offense. Rather, another undefeated, untied team adds another "un" to its resume: unrewarded.

Auburn's 13-0 season didn't even earn the Tigers a spot in the Orange Bowl, site of this year's BCS national championship game. That honor went, instead, to the 12-0 Oklahoma Sooners, who were no match for the Trojans of Southern California in a 55-19 beating. Nor did 12-0 Utah receive the respect it so rightly deserved, finishing a disappointing fourth in the polls behind Oklahoma. Now is the perfect time for action, as the BCS is contracted through 2005-2006. Though many expect its renewal, it is a system amenable to change, one that is especially necessary after the Associated Press asked to eliminate its poll as one of the determining criteria.

This closely follows last season's removal of The New York Times' ranking at the paper's request, and each year seems to hammer away at the legitimacy of the ranking. So, why perpetuate Division I-A college football as the only classification of the sport that doesn't use a playoff? The arguments are many, but can be boiled down to two: a concern for athletes and a passion for money.

All other major NCAA sports use playoff systems, including the remaining college football divisions. It's interesting to note how those collegians are, perhaps, more students than athletes, yet do not seem to miss too much time or strain themselves to the point of exhaustion. Further, the current bowl system already forces the athletes to play into January, a similar time frame that would be required by a playoff of the top eight teams. Rather than taking three weeks between the regular and postseasons, a playoff would allow an off week for finals, then require three or four games after that.

So the current bowl system must be in place because teams make tens of millions by participating in the BCS. It also allows the six "power" conferences with automatic berths in those games -- the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC -- to hold the purse strings.

That's not right, and it's certainly not fair to the players who bring in that money. Let the players and coaches determine their champion on the field, through a playoff, the only equitable way.