Coaches' final ballots to be made public Associated Press Posted: 4 hours ago California coach Jeff Tedford got what he wanted: From now on, balloting in the final regular-season coaches poll will be made public. Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said Thursday the decision was best for the game. The change comes after a public outcry last season, when the Golden Bears lost a shot at a Bowl Championship Series game, in part because they got dropped in the final coaches poll. Tedford and Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen have said voting should be made public. Tedford was on vacation Thursday and unavailable for comment. Though most coaches didn't want to release the votes because of the scrutiny it would bring, Teaff said they decided to vote for the change to quell any "uncalled-for controversy." "Our coaches were under no obligation to do this," said Teaff, a former coach at Baylor. "The good news is that somebody out there thinks that transparency is good for the system, and our coaches said, 'OK we hear you and we're going to join in and do our part."' Teaff added there are no circumstances in which the group would allow their in-season voting to be made public. The coaches poll helps determine the teams that will play in the BCS championship game. "The in-season polls are just a barometer," Teaff said. "The final poll that determines the two teams that play in the national championship seems to be the one everyone wants to know about." Kevin Weiberg, the Big 12 Conference commissioner and BCS coordinator, has said voting by coaches has taken on greater importance since The Associated Press asked to have its poll removed from the formula used to determine BCS matchups. Full Article
I think it's a good move. It's good policy. Look, whether Cal was wrong in claiming that there was "foul play" involved or not, the basis of Tedford's arguement, at least to me, makes sense. The coach's voting results SHOULD have been made public from the beginning. I'm not buying into their , "Well, we face scrutiny...." ....These coaches face scrutiny every week that they don't win a game. They should be used to it.
