Harris Interactive® Announces 2010 HICFP Panelists

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris Interactive®, a leading global market research firm, has finalized the recruitment of the panel for the 2010 Harris Interactive College Football Poll (HICFP) commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Since 2005, the poll has been one of the three components in the BCS Standings that determine the two teams that will play in the BCS National Championship game and those that qualify for at-large selection into the other BCS games.

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Harris Interactive also announced a four-year contract extension with the conferences and institutions that manage the BCS.  The parties have agreed to continue the HICFP through the 2013 college football season.

The HICFP panel includes former coaches, student-athletes and college administrators along with current and former members of the media.  Each of the 11 conferences submitted a pool of candidates, and Harris Interactive randomly selected 10 panelists from each pool.  Four other panelists represent the independent institutions.

"We appreciate Harris Interactive's professionalism and polling expertise," said BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock.  "Harris has created a pool of individuals who represent every part of the country.  We look forward to working with Harris Interactive for another four years on our mutual goal of making college football the best it can be."

Hancock noted that the other elements of the BCS Standings are the Coaches' Poll and the average of six computer rankings.  The three components are averaged together to create the BCS Standings.  

"We are so pleased to continue our relationship with the BCS," said Kimberly Till, President and CEO of Harris Interactive.  "College football is such a large part of the fabric of so many communities, and we are privileged to play such a vital role," Till added.

The first HICFP of the 2010 season will be released Sunday, October 10. The first BCS Standings will be released Sunday, October 17.

Harris Interactive is pleased to announce the 114 2010 HICFP Panelists:

About the Harris Interactive College Football Poll

The Harris Interactive College Football Poll is comprised of 114 panelists and includes former coaches, players, administrators and current and former media.  Panelists are randomly drawn by Harris Interactive from among more than 300 nominations supplied by the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) conferences and independent institutions. The panel meets Harris Interactive criteria for sample design and is a statistically reliable representation of all 11 conferences and independent institutions.

The poll participants' names will be available at www.harrisinteractive.com/bcspoll and the Harris Interactive College Football Poll rankings will be released and posted each week to the Harris Interactive website beginning on October 10.    The first BCS Standings will be released on October 17.   As in previous seasons, only the final season rankings for each individual HICFP participant will be released on BCS Selection Sunday, which will be December 5 this year.

About the Bowl Championship Series

The BCS is a five-game arrangement for post-season college football that is managed by the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and institutions. Its purpose is to match the two top-ranked teams in the final BCS standings in a national championship game and to create competitive match-ups in the four other BCS bowl games. For more information, visit www.bcsfootball.org.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive