WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008
Congress May Probe NCAA Bowl Championships
Bipartisan Trifecta Wants To Investigate College Football's Championship Series; Is It A Racket?
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(AP)
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Photos 2008 NCAA Final Four Kansas rallies to force overtime, then defeats Memphis in National Championship game.
Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, are introducing a resolution rejecting the oft-criticized bowl system as an illegal restriction on trade because only the largest universities compete in most of the major bowl games. The resolution would require Justice's antitrust division to investigate whether the system violates federal law.
The measure also would put Congress on record as supporting a college football playoff.
CBS News correspondent Jim Chenevey reports the resolution's backers say the championships are illegally restricted because only the largest universities compete in most of the major bowl games.
"Who elected these NCAA people? Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?" Abercrombie said at a press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill, gripping a souvenir University of Hawaii football.
Abercrombie said the matter is worthy of federal review because college football is big business with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.
"It's money. That's what this is all about," he said.
But it's no coincidence that all three lawmakers have home-state schools with recent beefs against the bowl system.
The University of Hawaii and Boise State University in Idaho each had an undefeated season in recent years, but were denied a shot at the championship. And Westmoreland said he is still smarting about his University of Georgia Bulldogs being passed over for the national championship game last year.
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Who elected these NCAA people? Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HawaiiGeorgia instead was matched up against undefeated Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, winning 41-10.
Westmoreland and Abercrombie said they started talking about the resolution after that game, as Abercrombie was paying off a bet with chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
The lawmakers say the bowl system is rigid and blocks all but the largest universities from competing in postseason bowls, denying dozens of others not just the opportunity to compete but also a shot at the big payoffs and national exposure that come with bowl appearances.
Abercrombie maintained that television markets are one factor in selecting which teams go to high-profile bowls.
"We shouldn't have to argue about who the champion is," Westmoreland said, citing the excitement and unpredictability of the NCAA college basketball tournament. "That should be decided on the field."
The BCS was created in 1998 by the six most powerful conferences. It relies on polls and computer ratings to determine which teams qualify for the top bowls.
Congress held a hearing on the BCS in 2005, but no legislation came of it.
In a statement, ACC Commissioner and current BCS coordinator John Swofford said the BCS allows all qualified teams to participate and is beneficial for student athletes, universities and fans.
"This issue has been looked at before," Swofford said. "We're confident that it complies with the law."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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These busybodies are never satisfied unless they''re able to control every aspect of our lives.
Thanks to the voters who put these idiots in office.
AGAIN - you clowns have NOTHING better to worry about than this garbage?!?!
Posted by hungry1968
Personally, I haven''t worried about anything in 10 years.
Congress should probe Congress
AGAIN - you clowns have NOTHING better to worry about than this garbage?!?!
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Posted by hungry1968 at 08:21 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Wait... you took the time to read the article, read the comments, and then you make a comment criticizing people who read the article, read the comments and make comments?
Right now The regular season + 1 bowlgame is 2-3 weeks shorter than most highschool seasons including the PLayoffs. Its 2-3 weeks shorter than all over levels of college football playoffs. Its 3-5 weeks shorter than the NFL season with playoffs.
Using an argument against a longer season makes you a PU$$IE.
Right now the span of time from the end of the college regular season to the championship is like 7 weeks.
Thats stupid.
Make the regular season 11 games with 1 mandatory conf championship for every conferance.
After that, the polls used to seed the playoffs with top 4 teams getting a first week bye.
Next 24 teams play first round creating 12 winners and add top 4 to make a sweet 16.
Each game is a minor bowl game.
The 8 games for the sweet 16 are medium bowl games.
Coming out of that 2nd round is 8 teams and 4 major bowls.
Then you have a final 4, repeating 2 major bowl venues and a final that gets rotated to a 3rd major bowl, and a consolation that uses the 4th major bowl. all 4 rotating.
Done.
Everyone gets a season and playoff that ISNT too long, ISnt complex, USES the existing bowls and everyon has a great time and everyone feels vindicated and treated fairly.
and its
We need a playoff series based on
And my analogy, about the drunk driver was to prove a point, which, I think escaped you.
BTW,,,I am a college football fan,, and I did think that Hawaii, did get snubbed. But they did lose their Bowl game, so how good were they?
AGAIN - you clowns have NOTHING better to worry about than this garbage?!?!
Posted by Rafterman1 at 07:07 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Where to begin? Oh ,,well here''s a start,,Ever hear of people driving a car while "multi-tasking"?
They are considered to be the most dangerous drivers on the road, even taking over the drunk driver, and , If you''re multi-tasking, you are not giving any one subject(or issue) the full attention that most complex issues command and deserve.
And further more;
There''''s a reason things like Iraq, Iran and gas prices don''''t "get fixed".
It''s because,,they''re wasting time on issues that have very little to do with matters of National Importance. You kind of answered your own statement(question). Do I need to say any more?
There''s a reason things like Iraq, Iran and gas prices don''t "get fixed". Because they are complex problems and may not even have a solution everyone can agree on, let alone a simple one. That''s why there were, are and will be problems like this in the future. But saying government should ignore the little rocks and go after only the big ones is like the cops saying "hey, why are we bothering with bank robberies when there are much bigger things like murder going on". It''s dumb and I''m sick of whiners complaining about these stories.
People can multitask. We can worry about Iran AND the BCS without hearing a bunch of whiners complain about every story that isn''t concerning grave consequences.
There''s better things to do.
- by atlanta30326 April 18, 2008 5:44 AM EDT
- You have to be kidding me! Iraq, Iran, mortgage fall-out, record gas prices, unemployment, credit crisis, a total moron and his evil genius henchman in the White House. Oh yeah...and an anti trust investigation as to why Boise State didn''t play Hawaii for the championship. You just can''t make this stuff up. What ever weed is growing on the Hill, I want some.
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