Congress vs. The BCS

[AUChizad]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/21989.html

Barton likens BCS to 'communism'
By: Daniel Libit
May 1, 2009 12:56 PM EST

Texas Rep. Joe Barton likened college football's Bowl Championship Series to "communism" Friday, even as he made the case that the system is what it is because of money.

In his opening remarks during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's commerce, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, Barton — the panel's ranking Republican — recalled the hearing he held on the same matter several years ago.

"That time, I had hoped through a spirit of volunteerism, the BCS would decide to go to a playoff system," he said. "That hasn't happened yet. It is interesting that people of good will — I think everybody on whatever side of the issue is a person of good will — keeps trying to tinker with the current system."

"It's like communism, you can't fix it."

Friday's hearing was the latest chapter in a long-running debate on the equitability — or lack thereof — of the Division I college football post season. That debate was supposed to have been quelled when the BCS system was instituted 11 years.

Currently, 11 college conferences participate in D1 football. But of those, only six are guaranteed spots in the four BCS games at the conclusion of the year. Notre Dame, which is unaffiliated with any conference, still receives $1.4 million from the BCS annually, and can participate in a BCS bowl if it is rated high enough in the BCS ranking system. Schools from leagues such as the Mountain West Conference, the Western Athletic Conference and the Mid-American Conference have to fight their way into the four prestige games. They share in significantly less of the BCS cash and have less of an opportunity to challenge for the national championship.

Witnesses at Friday's hearing included BCS coordinator John Swofford and Alamo Bowl President Derrick Fox — who defended the current system — and Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier, who advocated a change.

While acknowledging that no mechanism will ever be perfect, without controversy or ambiguity, Swofford defended the BCS on capitalistic grounds.

"If the BCS were to disappear tomorrow, each of those conferences would return to the marketplace and obtain a similarly attractive bowl slot on its own through individual negotiation," he said.

Afterward, Barton said that the "testimony is much more cogent than four years ago and it is much more open about why the bowl system exists, and it is money. At least we're putting on the table why the current system is so entrenched."

While saying that "we have market-based considerations we should take into account," Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chairman, noted that universities survive on federal and state tax dollars, and that particularly at a time of an economic crisis, "you can't deny or erase the fact there is a determinant for equitable treatment."

Earlier in the hearing, Rush responded to some criticism that Congress was involving itself in the affairs of college football.

"We are keenly interested," he said, "some indeed are very passionate about it. It is not in the interest of college football for anybody to be dismissive of our congressional responsibility and our congressional commitment."

Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.), who displayed a football helmet of his alma mater, the University of Houston, said that while constituents may also have their minds on larger matters, "We can walk and chew gum at the same time."

Nobody was quite as passionate as Barton, who, despite being an alumnus of a BCS-conference school —Texas A&M — has been arguably the biggest Capitol Hill advocate for a playoff system.

Barton took particular issue with Notre Dame's special status in the BCS and with Swofford's argument that the school's storied football history gives it a special place in firmament.

"Using that logic," Barton said, "Delaware ought to have 50 votes in the House."

I'm all for this good fight against the BCS, but communism?

[boartitz]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/21989.html

I'm all for this good fight against the BCS, but communism?

More like an ogilarchy.

[AUChizad]

http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/11699860

Despite sound and fury, there are pros to Congress grilling BCS
May 1, 2009
By Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
Tell Mike your opinion!    
     
Congress is holding hearings on the BCS this week. Please overcome the urge to roll the eyes and upchuck your lunch.

It's understandable if you suddenly feel ill. Congress is to sports what John Tesh is to rock 'n' roll. Congressional inquiries into sports issues often result in extensive public buffoonery and lengthy bouts of elitist grandstanding. They mispronounce names of athletes, meddle unnecessarily and many times utterly embarrass themselves. Some of them wouldn't know the difference between A-Rod and Selena Roberts.
 
Now, Congress is engaging in full-throttle hand-wringing when it comes to the flawed, farcical college football non-playoff system. To some people the BCS should stand for Be-Gone Congressional Silliness.

Granted, all true. And that's the argument you'll hear from my friend and new CBSSports.com Capitol Hill correspondent Dennis Dodd, who knows college football as well as anyone in the country but suddenly thinks he's Wolf Blitzer.

Congress is inefficient when it comes to sports. Fine. There is also a lot more going on in the country that requires its attention. Double fine.

Except ...

If you want a playoff system in college football, and the overwhelming majority of fans do, then Congress is your only hope.

Despite its glaring faults, Congress is the sole entity that can change the antiquated, garbage bowl system into a sleek, powerful, 21st-century playoff model.

You see, the BCS is a gang. An arrogant, ruthless gang conniving to keep its stranglehold on power any way possible, and the only things that can break up the BCS are subpoenas, flashlights and some ass-kicking.

When you dismantle gangs, you need The Untouchables. You need Eliot Ness, and Congress is the closest thing.

It was Congress -- with a serious assist by Jose Canseco -- that finally got baseball to overcome its steroid addiction and forced the union to drop its insincere opposition to serious testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

It was Congress that made Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens look silly. The hearings weren't ideal, but in the end they were a useful bludgeoning tool to get baseball to clean up its act.

Don't fool yourselves. Congress -- not Bud Selig or the media and certainly not the players -- changed baseball for the better, in terms of steroid use. Congress can do the same thing with the BCS. Just as with baseball, Congress can embarrass the BCS into submission with visible hearings and probing questions.

Lots of hearings and lots of questions.

To those who say that Congress has swine flu to worry about, as well as the economy, two wars and any number of other issues, well, just in case you didn't know, Congress can do several things at once.

That's an old, tired argument anyway. If Congress waited until there was no crisis to get things done, it would be waiting forever. There are always various crises.

On Friday, when the BCS officially gets probed by Congress, there will be moments of hyperventilating and clown-ism from congressional figures. It's already starting. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas sponsored legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a college football game a "national championship" unless it came from a playoff system.

That type of headline-grabbing legislation is similar to the two lawmakers who, during the Iraq War, wanted to change the name of french fries to "freedom fries" and french toast to "freedom toast" because of the French opposition to the war. Yes, that was productive.

There will be those moments, but overall this is a great thing.

Congress needs to BCS bunker-bust.

So go get 'em, lawmakers. Make the BCS change its ways. Please.

You're the only ones who can.