Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - I have always held the opinion that championships, however great or small, are won on the field of play. Don't bother me with asterisks, or press releases about forfeits.

I don't want to hear teams having to strike all mention of certain teams from their public records, or about schools having to remove banners from their gymnasiums. Sports isn't about taking a George Orwell-1984 approach to history.

I watched with my own eyes when Villanova played and lost to UCLA in the 1971 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. It didn't matter to me, or millions of other fans, than the NCAA subsequently vacated Villanova's participation in the tournament for the alleged use of an ineligible player.

Funny how the NCAA never vacated any of UCLA's titles when news of rules violations involving boosters like Sam Gilbert came to light.

By the same token, I shake my head when I see the NCAA earning money from television rights to the 1993 NCAA basketball tournament final, featuring North Carolina and Michigan in the title game. In the NCAA's twisted sense of history, that game didn't exist, even though I see Chris Webber of Michigan signaling for that ill-fated timeout on ESPN Classic every few weeks.

A bit closer to our FCS home, many of us saw Stephen F. Austin lose a thrilling 37-34 championship-game encounter with Georgia Southern for the I-AA football title in 1989. We remember that game, despite the fact that the NCAA later vacated the Lumberjacks as the national runners-up for rules violations.

That brings us to the 2008 FCS season, where the NCAA has decided that it will take away a championship before it is even earned. Orwell would have loved that.

The Southland Conference announced on Tuesday that it has been notified that it cannot award the 2008 league football championship to Central Arkansas, the team currently leading the Southland race. To do so would result in the league forfeiting its automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championships.

As a transitional team moving from Division II to FCS, Central Arkansas is ineligible for the playoffs. But Southland officials notified the NCAA months ago that it intended to let UCA compete for the conference title, with the league runner-up advancing with the automatic bid in the event that the Bears won.

As a matter of fact, the Southland had a championship trophy awaiting UCA in its final game of the 2007 season, had the Bears beaten McNeese State for a co-championship. The engraved trophy remained in the trunk of commissioner Tom Burnett's car when McNeese State won, 41-14, to capture the crown outright.

The crux of this case all boils down to one little sentence in the NCAA championship by-laws that reads:

"If a conference champion is ineligible to compete, or cannot compete for any reason, automatic qualification shall be withdrawn for that year and the remaining conference members shall be considered at-large."

The Southland thought it had received a waiver from that requirement when it initially filed its paperwork for the 2008 FCS playoffs, but when the subject came up again a couple of weeks ago, the NCAA decided there was a problem.

In my way of thinking, such a dilemma would be easy to fix. The NCAA could admit an oversight on its part and grant the Southland a waiver in the event that Central Arkansas wins the league title. All parties would be happy and a bad situation would be avoided.

Instead, the bureaucrats at the NCAA office have decided that one sentence is more important than doing what is right for the players, coaches and fans of Central Arkansas.

This isn't a decision that would impact the playoffs in any way, shape or form. Central Arkansas still would have to win two more conference games - at Stephen F. Austin and at home against McNeese State - to finish on top. There are no guarantees the Bears will do this. But some faceless bureaucrat in Indianapolis still had to go and stamp out UCA's hopes.

"It is presumptuous at this point to discuss the championship with two games to play," UCA athletic director Brad Teague said in part of his prepared statement on Tuesday. "But if our coaches and student-athletes win one of the next two games, we will at worst share the best record in the league and, in our mind, we will be champions. But we still have a lot of work to do."

And in the mind of many fans, the Bears will be viewed as champions no matter what some pencil-pusher in the NCAA office decides. In my view, Stephen F. Austin earned its place on the field as the 1989 runner-up and, if Central Arkansas has the best record in the Southland at the end of the season, they will be my champion.

PLANTING SEEDS

In most years, picking the four teams that will be seeded in the FCS championship bracket is fairly clear-cut. And this year, the top two seeds are easy to predict, if No. 1-ranked James Madison and No. 2 Appalachian State win their final two games.

But there should be plenty of debate for those other two spots when the FCS football committee meets in Indianapolis to select the teams for the playoffs.

If you went strictly by the Sports Network poll, Cal Poly and Northern Iowa would snap up those two additional seeds.

But Cal Poly will be a heavy underdog in its final regular season game at Wisconsin, and is probably just the third-ranked team in own region behind Big Sky champion Weber State and Montana - a team that edged the Mustangs 30-28 in September.

And Northern Iowa won't even earn the automatic bid from its own league, the Missouri Valley Football Conference, unless Southern Illinois loses one of its last two games.

The Gridiron Power Index, a system that uses computer rankings and polls to rank teams mathematically and, like TSN's poll, is one of the elements that will be used by the committee in selecting the field, has the top four ranked as JMU, ASU, Montana and Villanova, with Richmond, Cal Poly, Weber State, Northern Iowa, Wofford and William & Mary making up the rest of the top 10.

Past experience tells me that Weber State, with its only two losses coming to FBS opponents (Hawaii and Utah) and its dominating regular-season win over Montana, will gobble up one of those remaining seeds.

That would leave UNI, Villanova and probably Montana fighting for the final seed, should all three win out as expected.

Northern Iowa has a loss to Brigham Young and a last-second defeat at Southern Illinois to go with solid wins over South Dakota State and Western Illinois, teams that were ranked when they played the Panthers.

Villanova's two losses were to West Virginia and JMU on a final-play, Hail Mary touchdown pass. The Wildcats beat Richmond when the Spiders were ranked No. 1, and New Hampshire when the Wildcats were No. 8. Villanova also has a road win against William & Mary, currently the No. 12 team in TSN's poll.

Montana has a glossy one-loss record, with the 45-28 loss to Weber State as the only blotch. The Grizzlies should finish 11-1, with ranked wins over Cal Poly, Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona.

If you go with toughest schedule, Villanova wins out. If you want to spread the seeds around to different regions and conferences, Northern Iowa is your best bet. If you want tradition and a sold-out stadium, Montana suits the definition of a seeded team.

My personal pick would be Villanova, with the Wildcats' strength of schedule and near-miss against James Madison being the determining factors.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

It isn't easy being an NFL player, even if your resume has a Walter Payton Award or Buck Buchanan Award on it.

Kyle Shotwell, the 2006 Buchanan Award winner and the third player in a row to win it from Cal Poly, was released earlier this week by the Jacksonville Jaguars before being signed to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad on Wednedsday.

Shotwell, a speedy, sure-tackling linebacker, has had previous stints with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles as he tries to establish a pro career.

Jayson Foster, the 2007 Payton Award winner from Georgia Southern, has had to switch positions from quarterback to receiver and returnman in the NFL. He was a final cut by the Miami Dolphins this summer before being re-signed to the Dolphins' practice squad, and then quickly released again.

Foster got a break when he was then picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have kept him on their practice squad.

If players can persevere, there are often rewards. All you have to do is look at the rosters of other NFL teams to see a nice representation of athletes with FCS backgrounds.

The 2007 Buchanan Award winner Kroy Biermann of Montana has made an immediate mark with the Atlanta Falcons this year, as did last year's Buchanan runner-up Corey Lynch of Appalachian State before suffering a season-ending injury in his first year with the Bengals.

Chris Gocong of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings and Rashean Mathis of the Jacksonville Jaguars are among the former Buchanan Award winners who have established themselves in the league, while Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys and Brian Westbrook of the Eagles are star-caliber players with Payton Awards in their past