College football's average 2011-12 bowl rating fell to a new low in the 14-year history of the Bowl Championship Series.

Viewership was down 8 percent from last year and dropped below 2007 for the lowest average rating since the controversial BCS began, according to an analysis by The Birmingham News of Nielsen Media Research data. The average rating declined for the second straight year and has dropped 37 percent since the BCS-era high of 1998, when there were 13 fewer bowls.

Fewer TV viewers coincided with the average bowl attendance dipping below 51,000 for the first time since 1979.