Saturday Commentary: Congress to take on the BCS?

"Lawmakers want probe of college football bowl system"

Happy NFL Draft Day. To all of those people that are going to watch the all day coverage of the draft, I think you are crazy. I will let you in on a little secret. Your favorite team is still going to draft the same people whether you watch it or not. I also promise that at some point during the draft they will draft someone that you do not want them to. So, do something else with your day, like watch hockey. NBC is showing Colorado at Detroit at 3:00.

Now, this entry is not entirely about the NFL Draft. Instead, it is going to discuss a resolution being brought up in Congress about the BCS. Three members of the House of Representatives have decided that they want the Justice Department's antitrust division to investigate the BCS, to see if it violates federal law. Those members of the house include Neil Abercrombie (D-HA), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), and Mike Simpson (R-ID). The rest of this entry will look at why this resolution is pointless, and nothing will come from it.

First, where the creators of this resolution are from weakens their argument. All 3 are from a state that has a team with a fairly recent complaint against the BCS. In 2004, Boise State and Utah both went undefeated, but Utah went to a BCS game, in which they beat Pitt. Boise State however, went to the Liberty Bowl, losing to Louisville. In the 2007 season, University of Hawaii was the only team to make it through the regular season undefeated, and while they did play in a BCS game, they did not have a chance to win the championship. Also in 2007, the University of Georgia believed that they were better than the two teams that did play for the championship. In order for any resolution to even be considered in a situation such as this, it should come from a neutral party, not a disgruntled fan.

Secondly, while the majority of fans do want to see a playoff system implented, most of the major conference schools are actually against it. Why are many schools in the major conferences against a playoff? The same reason smaller schools in the minor conferences are for it. Money. Major conferences have control of the money in the bowl games, and the minor conferences want a bigger share of it. After the 2005 season, another game was added to the BCS, and the ranking a non-BCS conference team needed to achieve was lowered, making it easier for a smaller school to play in a BCS game. While some may think that Congress could force this system to change, that is not the case, which brings us to my third point.

Thirdly, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is a voluntary organization. Schools choose to be a part of it. With that in mind, the NCAA does not actually manage the BCS. If a school does not like the system, then they do not have to participate in it. This volunteer membership will make it difficult to enforce any anti-trust laws.

There are other issues involved in this as well, but these are the major issues. I will bring you updates should this issue progress. However, I do not see that happening.