Though this feat is a remarkable one, most people remember the legacy of the 1901 season based upon what occurred after the completion of the regular season. A dominant football team of the West Coast, Stanford challenged the Wolverines to a post-season contest that would coincide with Southern California's annual Tournament of Roses festival. Yost accepted this challenge and led a small group of his Wolverines on the long train ride to California. On January 1, 1902, Michigan defeated Stanford 49-0, in what was later dubbed the "Rose Bowl." The Rose Bowl later became an annual event in 1916. Due to the Big 10's institution of a rule forbidding post-season play, however, Michigan did not return to Pasadena until 1948, a year after the Big 10 and Pacific 10 conferences officially contracted with the Rose Bowl. This kept the tradition of the Rose Bowl intact, returning the game to its origin - the Big 10 champ versus the best of the Pac 10. Since its rather modest origins, the Rose Bowl has become one of the greatest events in all of sport. It is the original of the collegiate bowl games, the "grand- daddy of them all." Likewise, it has also become one of the greatest traditions of Michigan football, as each year's team plays to return to the game that the early Wolverines founded.
Though Michigan and the entire Big 10 conference certainly have profited - both monetarily and traditionally - from their association with the Rose Bowl, some now want to end this tradition by joining the newly-formed "bowl alliance." This is a collaboration of three games - the Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls - along with five conferences and one at-large bid. The Big 10 is currently not a member of the alliance, and this is from where this controversy arises. The alliance claims to serve the fans of college football by guaranteeing that the best teams will face each other in these games. In other words, it claims to decide the national championship "on the field of play." A detailed look at the agreements surrounding this alliance reveals that it does nothing of the sort, for it favors not those teams who are successful on the field in a given season, but rather those teams that can draw the most fans and generate the most ticket revenue.
A perfect example of this is the situation surrounding Notre Dame, a team that possesses a large fan base. Apart from the five conference champions, the alliance may select one at-large bid, a team that has a high ranking but failed to win its respective conference, or an independent team. Notre Dame holds an agreement with the alliance, guaranteeing it an invitation if it finishes the regular season in the top 10 of either poll. It did so this season and thus will play in an alliance game. However, there are three teams ranked higher than Notre Dame - including Ohio State (who defeated the Fighting Irish earlier this year), Colorado, and Tennessee - that did not win their conferences and could be eligible for the at-large bid. The only reason that they are not is because of Notre Dame's contractual agreement. So much for deciding the best teams on the field of play.
It is true that college football has become a business, and some claim that a Big 10 membership in the alliance would help it financially. Indeed, the payoff for participation in this year's Fiesta Bowl, the "national championship game," is $13 million, according to the Detroit Free Press. The payoffs for the Orange and Sugar Bowls are $7.8 million and $6.2 million, respectively. The Rose Bowl's payoff, at $8.4 million, is greater than these two alliance bowls. One might cite the Fiesta's payoff as a reason to join the alliance, for it exceeds that of the Rose Bowl. A membership in the alliance, however, does not guarantee a selection to the top alliance bowl, so this money is not certain. With the current agreement with the Rose Bowl, the Big 10 is guaranteed the payoff, for a Big 10 team will participate each year. The Big 10 would be foolish to turn down this guaranteed money, for the alternative may be less in the long run.
The bowl alliance holds neither the historical significance nor the tradition of the independent Rose Bowl. Furthermore, it does not guarantee any additional revenue than that the Big 10 already earns. For these reasons, the day upon which Michigan fans throw tortillas instead of roses would be a sad one.