The Kitsap County Bears, Champions of the first year Pacific Football League, are ranked #2 by the combined MLFCS AAA National Rankings.  They finished their 2011 season with a record of 13-1 scoring 398 (28.43 average per game) points and allowing only 185 ( (averaging 13.21 per game).  Head Coach Joe Disney led the Bears to the first ever PFL Championship Title by defeating the Southern Oregon Renegades 28 – 14 behind the play of receivers Mike Bush and Jackie Thomas.  This is the first appearance by the Bears in a MLFCS Bowl Game.

The Pacifica Islanders continued their winning ways in the NCFL after defeating the River City Gators in the League Championship.  The Islanders defeated the Georgia Firebirds in the Champions Challenge Bowl at Las Vegas on August 13 to hold their position in the AAA MLFCS National Championship.  Led by Running Back Jason Harrison (scored two touchdowns at the Champions Challenge Bowl) this is the second appearance by the Islanders in the MLFCS National Title and third overall appearance in a National Bowl game.

Kickoff for the MLFCS AAA National Championship is set for 4:00pm Pacific Time.

National Playoffs have not worked such as those conducted within the NAFL.  The cost associated with participating in a national playoff system has been so prohibitive, due to travel expenses incurred by the visiting team, that the playoff system has typically sent those teams who are either more fiscally empowered or who have had to travel the least within the playoff structure.

Regional tournaments have worked very well in the past.  Those tournaments such as those operated by National Football Events and the USFA yield highly competitive regional matchups and arguments can be made that the survivor of those regional tournaments could certainly be viable contenders for the National Championship.

We’ve looked to College Football for the answer.  What we have found is a very good system of ranking teams across the nation and placing the top two teams as determined by the BCS Rankings Formula onto the field to fight it out for the National Championship.  Though there are several flaws within the BCS, and there are many who say it is simply not fair to great football programs from “lesser” football conferences, it has provided great National Title Games over the past several years.

Our goal has been to form a Consensus Organization, nationwide, to agree on a format of choosing what teams are invited into the end of year Bowl Games, who will host these Bowl Games and, of course, which of these Bowl Games will be for the Minor League Football Consensus National Championship.  First, we have to determine who is a member of the Consensus.

Over the past two years the Consensus Organization has been made up of the several prominent National Organizations.  Minor League Football, Minor League Football News, National Football Events, The United States Football Association and the U.S. Federation of American Football were the founding members of the National Consensus Organization.  Other organizations who were encouraged to participate (American Football Association, Far West Football Association, Semi-Pro BCS, Western Football News, American Football News and American Football News Today) but all declined or did not respond.  It was determined that those who joined in forming the Consensus are the most prominent and influential of the national organizations and, moreover, have their primary focus on the pulse and needs of Minor League Football across the country.  To that end, over the past two years, this National Consensus Organization has agreed in the naming of 3 Minor League Football Consensus National Champions.

The primary mission of the National Consensus Organization for 2010 and beyond is to increase the body of the National Consensus Organization to include the major Minor League Football Leagues, playing in both Winter/Spring and Summer/Fall season formats, in the National Consensus Organization and to have each of these Leagues participate in the bidding process to host Minor League Football Bowl Championship Series Games.  We anticipate this will become an eight-game showcase of Minor League Football and is designed to ensure that the two top-rated teams in the country meet in the Minor League Consensus National Championship Game, and to create exciting and competitive matchups among fourteen other highly regarded teams in seven other bowl games.  This is an ambitious calling, to be sure.  In the early years there may not be enough leagues interested in hosting the Bowl Championship Games or those who are able to send their league representative to such a game.  In this event, we will obviously reduce the number of hosted Bowl Championship Games.

Over the past several years the College BCS has been undeniably successful in achieving its goals. Within the BCS System, the top two teams have played each other 12 times in 12 years by BCS measurements and 9 times in the last 12 according to the AP poll — including the last six years in a row. Additionally, it has provided more access to the major bowls for all eleven conferences, more television exposure, and more postseason revenue than ever before.

The MLFCS games are intended to be operated by community-based organizations in each of the host cities. Today, there are prominent leagues from around the country that are ideally suited to act as these community-based organizations.  All bowl games provide meaningful season-ending opportunities to athletes, teams and leagues across the country.

This integrated system of post-season bowl games offers rewards for teams and places a tremendous premium on the regular season. The system will promote inter-league play within the region of participating leagues as well as encourage competitive inter-league play between those teams who are not traditionally within their normal region.  A thriving bowl structure helps ensure that the regular season remains strong and vibrant.

We encourage the input of league commissioners and officials, team owners and coaches and their respective athletes.  To submit your input, please send an email to us at editor@minorleaguefootballnews.com.