Crapstorm ready, BCS under review in the legislature

[Collier11]

Updated: December 9, 2009, 10:43 AM ET
Playoff legislation on House docketComment Email Print Share By Lester Munson
ESPN.com
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Federal legislation that could lead to a college football playoff tournament will move a step closer to reality on Wednesday in a hearing before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives.


The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will consider a bill that would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit any bowl game from calling itself a "national championship" unless the game is "the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system." The subcommittee is expected to vote on the proposal on Wednesday after a line-by-line consideration of the bill.

"With everything going on in the country, I can't believe that Congress is wasting time and spending taxpayers' money on football," Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "We feel strongly that managing of college sports is best left to the people in higher education."

Sounds to me like the same lame azzed response that we get everytime a playoff is brought up, MR. BCS line my pockets is a tad worried I think


Written and sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the bill is a direct attack on the BCS and, if enacted, would bring the long simmering controversy over the BCS to an end. In a legislative process that is long and can be tortuous, the hearing is a significant step. This is the furthest any bill on the BCS controversy has ever progressed on Capitol Hill.


At a hearing on the BCS issue in May, Barton demanded a playoff and warned BCS officials that if "they sit on their hands and yawn, this legislation could end up on the President's desk for his signature." This week's development, according to a spokesman for the committee, is Barton's response to the BCS's refusal to consider a playoff.


Wednesday's hearing is known as a "markup," a procedure that allows any committee member to propose amendments to the bill, followed by committee action on the amendments. The procedure is frequently used to iron out technical problems in the bill's language and to provide a forum for compromises among committee members on substantive issues.


Barton's bill is supported by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the chairman of the subcommittee. If the subcommittee approves the bill, it will move to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where Barton enjoys some leverage as the ranking Republican. The next steps would be a vote on the floor of the House, passage by the Senate, and approval by President Barack Obama. Obama has said in numerous interviews on ESPN and on "60 Minutes" that he supports a playoff system.


The bill would give the FTC the authority to regulate the college football postseason with the power to obtain injunctions and to assess huge fines against any organization that promotes a "national championship game."


If enacted into law, the rule would become effective for the 2011 college football season and would affect bowl games played late in 2011 and in January of 2012.

I dont get all the worry from the bowl purists, you could preserve the bowl games, hell you could incorporate them into the championship structure.

"We're pleased that Congressman Barton's bill is moving forward because it will require the BCS to choose -- either make college football's championship a competitively earned honor or admit that it's currently the equivalent of being elected homecoming king," said Matthew Sanderson, a founder of Playoff PAC, a political action committee aimed at electing members of Congress who favor a playoff system.

Lester Munson is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[badger]

Just in time for us all worrying about whether we'll be gainfully employed during the coming year or not!

Just in time for us to have a season where we don't give a d@mn about the BCS!

Just in time! :mad:

[adoniijahsooner]

It's about time they destroy the system and get a playoff.

[Collier11]

Just in time for us all worrying about whether we'll be gainfully employed during the coming year or not!

Just in time for us to have a season where we don't give a d@mn about the BCS!

Just in time! :mad:

I think that is a weak argument, there are always going to be times when things arent going well for this country, does that mean they never investigate companies that might be illegally hoarding the money and leaving the little guy out?

[Oldnslo]

inasmuch as this is an industry involving billions of dollars, I'm okay with Congress looking into it.

[badger]

I think that is a weak argument

Not trying to argue, just trying to express how little I care right now.

[Collier11]

That I can go along with

[47straight]

In terms of the law, based on what's written there, it would be hilarious if enacted. The BCS championship is a single-elimination playoff. It just happens to be from a playoff pool of 2.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

In terms of the law, based on what's written there, it would be hilarious if enacted. The BCS championship is a single-elimination playoff. It just happens to be from a playoff pool of 2.

Heh.

[ocsooner]

In terms of the law, based on what's written there, it would be hilarious if enacted. The BCS championship is a single-elimination playoff. It just happens to be from a playoff pool of 2.

They don't have to actually do anything, just make it appear they are doing something.

[Mississippi Sooner]

This crap is completely worthless on several levels the way it's worded. Even beyond what 47straight said about the playoff pool of 2, does it really matter if they call it a national championship or not? Just call it the BCS Championship and it will still be coveted as long as all those millions of dollars are attached to it. As long as the NCAA and the school presidents aren't willing to change it, I can't see how congress will.

[Dio]

So if this law is passed and * wins the NC game (Tebow forbid), does that mean * is not the National Champion, all thanks to a bill started by a Rep. from texas?

[Collier11]

Still in the early stages but it has passed initially with the House subcommittee

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4727426

[AlbqSooner]

This is similar to the"Super Bowl" not allowing unlicensed commercial enterprises from using that phrase. We all know what they are talking about.

Call it playing for the BCS Trophy.

[badger]

This is similar to the"Super Bowl" not allowing unlicensed commercial enterprises from using that phrase. We all know what they are talking about.

Call it playing for the BCS Trophy.

Don't they already do this, kind of, sort of?

I mean, the NCAA doesn't declare a FBS champion for this very reason. That's why all these other organizations, from the BCS to the AP to the National Championship Foundation declare one, because the NCAA doesn't.

If they're demanding playoffs, why don't we just call this year's Fiesta Bowl the NIT tournament :D

[OUDoc]

Maybe next they can look into why Mazzio's takes more than 45 minutes to deliver my pizza.

[TMcGee86]

to prohibit any bowl game from calling itself a "national championship" unless the game is "the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system."

Two major problems with this.

1. All they have to do is call it the "BCS Championship Game" which they do for the most part anyway.

2. The BCS is a "single elimination post-season playoff system". It's just a two-team playoff instead of the bigger one that most people want.

This is a complete and total waste of time.

[TMcGee86]

Maybe next they can look into why Mazzio's takes more than 45 minutes to deliver my pizza.

damn I miss mazzio's. now I'm hungry. :mad:



:D

[RedstickSooner]

Yep. If there's one thing I know, it's this: There's nobody I'd rather have overseeing college football than Congress. They can't possibly screw this up.

Maybe next they can look into regulations on what color trim you can use on brick homes versus wood. Perhaps we could hold committee meetings on how large vanity mirrors in sedans should be, versus their permissable size in SUVs.

College football is a multi-billion dollar industry, but this isn't an overhaul of college football. It's an attempt to mandate one aspect to suit the whims or beliefs of one school of thought. Doing this through Congress would be like using Congress to force the NFL to change where they set the ball for free kicks, or how wide goal posts should be.

When an industry isn't polluting, causing harm to individuals, stealing, or doing anything else you can call a crime, Congress has absolutely no business getting involved.

Whether we have a playoff should be up to the college football world. Not the political world.

If Congress really wants to meddle, they should do so in a manner which makes sense -- by yanking Federal funding to any school that doesn't participate in a playoff format for football, assuming they play football. After all, deciding how & when to spend money is *precisely* what Congress is empowered to do.

Trying to twist the FTC into a tool to force a playoff is one of the most retarded things I've ever heard of, and there's nothing which gets my goat more than politicians abusing our government for their pet peeves & projects.

If Congress is going to legislate what the word "championship" means, it should apply to everything, not just one sport at one age level. So, none of us should be able to refer to anything as a "championship" unless we meet whatever ghey standard Congress settles on.

And if you really think they're going to abolish the BCS simply because some moron codifies his prissy pissant requirement that they not call the BCS Championship game a Championship, well, brother... You obviously haven't heard of the thesaurus.

I somehow have a feeling the BCS might be able to survive without using the word "champion".

[IronHorseSooner]

As someone who by the nature of my job dissects Congressional language for funding, many of your concerns about the "playoff of 2" and "is it BCS or National Championship" will be ironed out during mark-up. This same thing will happen when it goes to the full House. The Senate will do the same thing, and if there are differences in the language, they will be corrected in Conference Committee. What is funny is that this may be one of the few issues in recent memory that has brought together conservative GOPs (like Barton from Texas), and liberal Dems (like Neil Abercrombie from Hawai'i).

[Collier11]

Redstick, the issue at hand isnt the playoff in general, its an anti trust issue of whether or not the teams outside of the big 6 conferences have proper access to the funds as well as the championships that bring on those funds...from what I understand

[yermom]

maybe they should work out some OOC match ups, i can kinda see that. people not wanting to play Boise is pretty crappy.

i don't know how you deal with conferences though. i mean the MAC or the WAC just aren't as competitve, you go undefeated, even playing a couple of BCS teams isn't as impressive as a BCS team going undefeated and playing 9 or 10 of them

[Leroy Lizard]

Sorry, but I just have to say something.

If this bill passes, it is only the start. The one thing we know about this administration is that they are control freaks and so love a powerful central authority (like the Communists). They will install a federal committee to create a playoff "model." It will only be voluntary -- college football would only be asked to consider it as a viable option.

Sounds good, right?

Wait until a university loses all of its federal title money because it didn't adopt the "voluntary" playoff idea.

The federal government is not going to allow college football the freedom to create its own playoff system.

When college football can be controlled by the feds, then nothing is safe from the feds.

[badger]

I know that OU will do well in football regardless of what assssssssinine procedure is instituted for the postseason.

Our non-conference scheduling is AWESOME.

Our conference matchups ROCK.

Our recruiting is... GOOD!

Our coaching staff makes us HAPPY!

So, whatever rules are in place, OU will still win, Texas will still whine, and mid-majors will still get disrespected if they only play one tough game per season before the postseason.

[Scott D]

has Barton done anything of positive note at all in the time he's been in Washington, or is he just wasting my money?

[SoonerLB]

This gives me hope that Congress will find the time to investigate why cable TV charges me over and over for programming I didn't watch the first time it was shown. And not near enough football! ;)

[jduggle]

Redstick, the issue at hand isnt the playoff in general, its an anti trust issue of whether or not the teams outside of the big 6 conferences have proper access to the funds as well as the championships that bring on those funds...from what I understand

Spot on. It is a Sherman antitrust case just waiting to be tried. If the BCS selection committee isn't a cartel I don't know what is.

[Leroy Lizard]

The focus of Congress is the championship game. Nothing inherently prevents Boise St. from playing in the BCS championship game. The rules apply equally to Boise St. as Oklahoma. Therefore, in terms of obtaining a berth in the championship game there is nothing cartel-ish about the BCS.

[SoonerBacker]

It seems to me that there should be "$Trillions$" of things they would be better off concentrating on. I do NOT want Congress taking over the college football "industry" any more than I want them taking over any other aspect of our economy. All they will do is F it up!

[King Barry's Back]

Spot on. It is a Sherman antitrust case just waiting to be tried. If the BCS selection committee isn't a cartel I don't know what is.

One problem with this argument is that most of the BCS members are govt agencies -- state universities.

You might be able to apply Sherman to the private universities -- I haven't studied anti-trust law in twenty years -- and thereby bring heat on the public schools, but my guess is that the privates would actually be shielded by their association with the publics.

[King Barry's Back]

I was looking for an article on the bill in question, but I found this interesting little article. Make of it what you will. Man, lobbying, PRing for college football? What a great freaking job!

From POLITICO:
BCS puts Ari Fleischer in the lineup
By: Andy Barr
November 23, 2009 02:57 PM EST

The college football Bowl Championship Series has hired Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, to help improve its image.

The BCS, which combines polls and computer data to select a national championship game, is widely unpopular with college football fans, who have grown frustrated by the number of uncompetitive title games and a rankings system that many say unfairly favors teams from the biggest conferences.

The BCS has faced recent political pressure from Playoff PAC, a federal political action committee that has organized an anti-BCS messaging and lobbying effort. The group was created by six college football fans with political expertise, including Matthew Sanderson, former campaign finance counsel to Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign.

“This hire says a lot about the state of college football. The BCS needs a hired mercenary to sell the system,” said Sanderson, who serves as a spokesman for Playoff PAC. “Even a respected professional like Mr. Fleischer will have a hard time selling an arbitrary system that a recent Sports Illustrated poll shows is not supported by 90 percent of college football fans.”

“Maybe Mr. Fleischer can bump up the BCS’s approval ratings, and Playoff PAC wishes him luck with that,” Sanderson added.

“Playoff advocates have had an easy ride where they have never been called on to explain exactly how they would create an alternative. There is tremendous division among playoff advocates,” said Fleischer. “While the BCS has its share of critics, once people see both sides of the issue, they will see why the system has its great support.”

The former White House press secretary’s firm specializes in training athletes and sports organizations to deal with the media. Fleischer’s clients have included Major League Baseball, the United States Olympic Committee and the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock — who was promoted to the position last week — said in a statement that Fleischer’s hiring was designed to help highlight the positive aspects of the system, which Hancock identified as picking the best two teams to play for the championship while still preserving the postseason bowl system for which any team with at least six wins is eligible.

© 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC

[ouduckhunter]

The federal government is not going to allow college football the freedom to create its own playoff system.

When college football can be controlled by the feds, then nothing is safe from the feds.

Yup, you got that right!! :mad:

[King Barry's Back]

I've linked to the text of the bill below. Looks like that has not been updated to reflect either subcommittee passage or the amendments that came out of markup. So this might or might not work tomorrow.

You should know that Joe Barton represents part of Ft Worth and probably, I can't tell for sure, has TCU in his district. The bill has a whopping 4 cosponsors, and was so badly drafted that a bunch of soonerfans.com posters just took it apart. (Another glaring weakness: Is it Constitutional to tell someone they can't call something a "national championship"?)

Barton just dropped this in the hopper in January and forgot about it, and when the Horned Frogs went undefeated and got left out, he was able to get the Subcommittee chairman to hold a hearing to get some attention for himself (Barton).

So this is really a case of home cooking to shore up some local votes and little else.

This bill will never see the light of day at the committee level.


http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.390:

[SoonerBorn68]

Government, stay off our gridiron!

The only thing they could do that would make football better is to bulldoze South Bend.

[Leroy Lizard]

You should know that Joe Barton represents part of Ft Worth and probably, I can't tell for sure, has TCU in his district. The bill has a whopping 4 cosponsors, and was so badly drafted that a bunch of soonerfans.com posters just took it apart. (Another glaring weakness: Is it Constitutional to tell someone they can't call something a "national championship"?)

Nope.

Here is the definition of hypocrisy:


“This hire says a lot about the state of college football. The BCS needs a hired mercenary to sell the system,” said Sanderson, who serves as a spokesman for Playoff PAC.

[Leroy Lizard]

Here is the text of the bill as drafted so far:


(a) Promotion of Game- It shall be unlawful for any person to promote, market, or advertise a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football game as a championship or national championship game, unless the game is the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system for which all NCAA Division I FBS conferences and unaffiliated Division I FBS teams are eligible.

Okay, according to this law if the NCAA bans a team from post-season play, the last game of the season cannot be called a national championship game.

How stupid are these people?

[Petro-Sooner]

****ing government. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Leroy Lizard]

By the way, Tulsa could force the Big XII into allowing it to join. After all, the Big XII is a consortium of schools that shuts out regional universities from participating in its lucrative championship game.

So is the Big XII a cartel?

[King Barry's Back]

By the way, Tulsa could force the Big XII into allowing it to join. After all, the Big XII is a consortium of schools that shuts out regional universities from participating in its lucrative championship game.

So is the Big XII a cartel?

Nope. Eleven govt agencies cooperating with one private, non-profit. Not a cartel.

Now, could the charge of cartel be brought against television networks that sign contracts to televise lucrative championship games that exclude regional universities? (I think not, because TV networks have the right to exclusively televise something, but I'm no lawyer.)

[Leroy Lizard]

Nope. Eleven govt agencies cooperating with one private, non-profit. Not a cartel.

How is the BCS any different?

[King Barry's Back]

How is the BCS any different?

I don't know enough about the structure of the BCS Organization to have a say.

Who are actually members? My understaninding is that the actual members of the BCS are the six conferences (Big XII, SEC, ACC, Pac-10, Big East, Big 11) and Notre Dame.

But it may be that the actual membership is held by each of the schools in each of those conferences.

Or it might something else entirely different, I just don't know.

And if you are asking why Joe Barton can write a bill to order the BCS to create a bigger playoff -- the answer is that Congressmen can write bills to do pretty much whatever they want. (Shocking, yeah? Sometimes it's hard to sleep at night thinking up what they might do because they can.) They could amend Sherman to apply to state governments if they want, but I can't imagine that they ever would.

Or they could amend it to say that college athletic departments are subject to Sherman, and that's the end of it.

[Scott D]

I've come to the conclusion that Barton wouldn't be bringing this up right now if the title game had Texas v. TCU in it.

[Leroy Lizard]

From their official Web site:

"The BCS is managed by the commissioners of the 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision ("FBS") (formerly Division I-A) conferences, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame, and representatives of the bowl organizations. The conferences are Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Pacific-10, Southeastern and Western Athletic."


Or they could amend it to say that college athletic departments are subject to Sherman, and that's the end of it.

That would still allow TCU to sue for entry into the Big XII. What defense would a conference have if so? TCU is a school in the region that has been shut out of participating in a championship event even though they have the abilities to do so.

If the BCS isn't safe from the Sherman Act, neither is a conference. Do we want to go down that path?

[Collier11]

The BCS could fix this mess and have a plus one system, its not perfect but id rather give the Top 4 a chance than just the top 2 but they wont even do that

[King Barry's Back]

From their official Web site:

"The BCS is managed by the commissioners of the 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision ("FBS") (formerly Division I-A) conferences, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame, and representatives of the bowl organizations. The conferences are Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Pacific-10, Southeastern and Western Athletic."



That would still allow TCU to sue for entry into the Big XII. What defense would a conference have if so? TCU is a school in the region that has been shut out of participating in a championship event even though they have the abilities to do so.

If the BCS isn't safe from the Sherman Act, neither is a conference. Do we want to go down that path?

To be clear, I have not heard of anyone using Sherman against college football. The idea came up somewhere in the thread, and I just responded.

In my analysis, the BCS probably is safe from Sherman, as it is "owned" by conferences -- and many conference members are govt agencies (state schools). And the govt has an unlimited right to monopolies, Sherman applies to private firms.

Also, pretty much all of the rest of the schools playing football are non-profit, and I don't know if Sherman applies to non-profits, but I've never of it being used against any.

A person probably could argue that despite the fact that the BCS is owned/managed by these protected entities, the BCS itself is a commercial organization designed to maximize TV funds and have a case worth hearing.

But again I'm not a lawyer. I don't even like them. :D

[King Barry's Back]

The BCS could fix this mess and have a plus one system, its not perfect but id rather give the Top 4 a chance than just the top 2 but they wont even do that

I think I'sm finally for playoffs, and think plus-one is the ticket. Play all bowls as they are now. Designate two of the four BCS bowls as "semi-finals bowls" rotating like they do the championship now.

Of the two semi-finals bowls, one would choose BCS ranked teams 1&4, the other would choose 2&3. The winners would face one week later at the BCS Championship.

The two semi-finals bowls would be more meaningful than they are now, and the rest of the bowls would be left almost completely alone.

No additional games would be played overall, and only two schools would have to play only one extra game. And that would be before school begins in January.

Disadvantage: the number of BCS bowl slots would drop back to eight. FIX: Upgrade the new Cotton Bowl to BCS status, keep 10 BCS slots, and let JerrysWorld national championship games.

Xtra-Advantage: BCS bowls would be hosting very meaningful games. With four bowls -- you have a four year cycle. Year 1 you host the 2&3 game, year 2 you host the 1&4 game, year 3 you host a "normal" bowl game AND the championship game (like now), and year 4 you host a "normal" game and start preparing to begin again. Also benefits bowl committees because two of four years they don't have to do ANY recruiting/scouting of football teams to invite, that's taken care of by the BCS.

Throw in the Cotton, and you have a similar 5-yr cycle.

[Soonersince57]

Good cartoon in the paper noting the Congress working on college playoffs - - in the meantime, the NCAA is taking up how to win in Afghanistan.

[Leroy Lizard]

Even if a playoff is desirable, we don't want it initiated by Congress. This bunch especially thinks that their role is to run every aspect of our economy, and giving up control over how a sport decides its champion will send a signal that college football (any sport for that matter) can be rolled.

Congress does not care about the Sherman Act. They are not trying to right an injustice. They want power wherever they can find it, and we need to send them the message that college football is off limits.

Remember, tyrannies always begin by enticing the people to give up rights in exchange for goodies. College football fans want a playoff, and Congress is dangling that carrot out there in hopes that the fans fall for it.

If a playoff really is desirable, then let college football decide.

[Jboozer]

This is crazy! I remember when the BCS started it was to eliminate the split nat'l championships that happened every now and then. It was great for a few years, then people started complaining again. Soon the playoff won't be enough either. The seedings will be unfair, and based on some contention. teams will be upset that they are seeded to low, play in tougher conferences so it is harder for them, ect. Screw it all don't change a thing. the nat'l championship is now more about the media than anything else. thats what made the bowl season so great. When was the last time anyone watched the NIT tourney??? Nobody cares, not even the players. I hate all this crap and say just let them play. If you want playoffs, and a certain champion go to the NFL, thats what it is about. This is about the schools, players, students and fans. Bowls give half the teams something to be happy about. Maybe if the tie ins were eliminated we could just match up teams against the best possible opponnet period rather than trying to create a system that will never be enough.

[Jboozer]

Wow that makes very little sense. Sorry for ramblin. Good luck understanding all that. Stupid finals have screwed with my head! haha

[Leroy Lizard]

Actually, all you had to understand was "This is about the schools, players, students and fans." He is absolutely right.

But his post is certainly easy to understand: (1) fans will never be happy and (2) we are supposed to enjoy college football for what it is, not what the media wants it to be.

College football is all about marching bands, and cheerleaders, and the fall of autumn leaves, and cheerleaders, and pep rallies, and cheerleaders. Let's focus on what is great about college football and quit whining. College football is great. It has been great for over 100 years. Leave it alone.

[RedstickSooner]

I know that OU will do well in football regardless of what assssssssinine procedure is instituted for the postseason.

Our non-conference scheduling is AWESOME.

Our conference matchups ROCK.

Our recruiting is... GOOD!

Our coaching staff makes us HAPPY!

So, whatever rules are in place, OU will still win, Texas will still whine, and mid-majors will still get disrespected if they only play one tough game per season before the postseason.

I love this post, Badger. Our non-con matchups -- awesome! Yay us! Our conference matchups are the bomb! They rock! Yay us! Our recruiting is, uh... Well, could be worse! Yeah! Could be worse! We have players, nearly every year!

Anyhow, sorry for digging this up so long after the fact. :)

[Bourbon St Sooner]

We have players, nearly every year!


Now if we could just have HEALTHY players.