Preceding the 1998 football regular season there was a coalition between the FedEx Orange, Nokia Sugar, Rose and Tostitos Fiesta Bowls and the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences and the University of Notre Dame forming the Bowl Championship Series or BCS. In the first BCS title game in 1998, Florida State was defeated by Tennessee (23-16) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

The BCS was set up to establish the national champion for college football. The BCS also preserved and enhanced the bowl system and also offered tremendous support to the college football. It became a platform to host the leading teams of every season in the concluding games of the season. Through a conference revenue sharing plan, the BCS group distributes over $40 million to non-participating BCS institutions. It also distributes $200,000 per year to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for reckoning and managing the BCS Standings.