Ad Opposing College Football's BCS to Air
Playoff PAC, a political action committee dedicated to replacing college football's Bowl Championship Series with a playoff system, today released its first advertisement.
The spot, which will air in Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth and Salt Lake City this week, focuses on the fact that some NCAA Division I teams that had undefeated seasons do not get to compete for the national championship.
It opens by noting that Boise State and Texas Chistian University went undefeated, then cuts to an interview in which BCS executive director Bill Hancock saying undefeated teams had a great season and should be congratulated.
"Yeah, they're undefeated, but, you know…not everybody can play" for the national championship, Hancock says.
Interviewer Dan Patrick is then heard saying "that's not a great consolation prize, Bill, you know that."
Later, after Hancock's comment that "not everybody can play" is heard again, these words flash onscreen: "Yes, they can. It's called a playoff."
In response to the spot, Hancock emailed the following comment.
"At the moment these great universities (Boise State and TCU) are celebrating and being celebrated, some want to use it to drive a political agenda, and that's too bad," he said. "Because of the BCS, TCU and Boise State have a national stage and a primetime TV slot to showcase their success, and they deserve to enjoy the spotlight. Political smear ads have become an unwelcome part of brassknuckle politics, let's hope they don't start spreading to college football."
Last month, a House subcommittee passed legislation to force college football to switch from to a traditional playoff system. There are many more steps before the legislation could become law, however, and it faces long odds.
Critics, including Hancock and some lawmakers, say Congress should be addressing more important issues "than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played," as Hancock put it.
But other lawmakers have railed against the current system, which they complain discriminates against certain schools and conferences.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) has called the BCS a "farce" that "arbitrarily selects champions and reduces competition between conferences."
"Under the BCS system, certain schools are eliminated from championship contention before their season even starts," Playoff PAC co-founder Matthew Martinez said in a release announcing the group's ad. "Undefeated teams from outside of the 'privileged conferences' are offered only a verbal slap on the back. This is wrong. When the BCS imposes a glass ceiling on these teams, it is not merely denying fans bragging rights. It is robbing schools of the substantial institutional benefits-improved funding, alumni networks, publicity, and admissions numbers-that these playing opportunities would bring."
Alabama and Texas, which both went undefeated, face off in the BCS national championship game Thursday.