Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Wednesday approved legislation that could lead to a college football national championship playoff system.
The ‘‘College Football Playoff Act of 2009’’ would call on the Federal Trade Commission to ban the promotion of any post-season NCAA Division I football national championship games, unless the games culminate in a single elimination playoff system.
The Ranking Member of the committee Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who sponsored and authored the bill, looks to sack to the controversial Bowl Championship Series' (BCS) deceptive revenue practices toward automatic qualifier conferences.
“It [BCS] is truly a cartel in the United States. If this cartel existed in the business world it would be in violation of the Sherman Anti-trust Act and we wouldn’t be having a markup on a benign bill like this. We have a multi billion dollar operation that’s not taxed, that’s not subjected to the anti-trust laws and doesn’t really come close to a fair and equitable system for a national championship,” said Barton.
Numerous Representatives voiced their disagreement to hold the hearing at a time when more serious matters should be addressed. Though there are other major issues right now, Barton reminded the committee that these bowl games produce nearly $1.2 billion dollars and interact within interstate commerce, which is within Congress’ power to regulate.
BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock echoed the critics' concern, and told the committee that Congress should focus it’s time with “ more important issues than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played."
"The consensus among the presidents, athletic directors, coaches and faculty from the 120 major universities is that the current system is the best," added Hancock.
The legislation was brought up three days after this year's BCS games were announced, which have left college football fans to question the fairness surrounding the selection of teams in the championship games.
House Bill Aims To Sack College Football BCS System
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Wednesday approved legislation that could lead to a college football national championship playoff system.
The ‘‘College Football Playoff Act of 2009’’ would call on the Federal Trade Commission to ban the promotion of any post-season NCAA Division I football national championship games, unless the games culminate in a single elimination playoff system.
The Ranking Member of the committee Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who sponsored and authored the bill, looks to sack to the controversial Bowl Championship Series' (BCS) deceptive revenue practices toward automatic qualifier conferences.
“It [BCS] is truly a cartel in the United States. If this cartel existed in the business world it would be in violation of the Sherman Anti-trust Act and we wouldn’t be having a markup on a benign bill like this. We have a multi billion dollar operation that’s not taxed, that’s not subjected to the anti-trust laws and doesn’t really come close to a fair and equitable system for a national championship,” said Barton.
Numerous Representatives voiced their disagreement to hold the hearing at a time when more serious matters should be addressed. Though there are other major issues right now, Barton reminded the committee that these bowl games produce nearly $1.2 billion dollars and interact within interstate commerce, which is within Congress’ power to regulate.
BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock echoed the critics' concern, and told the committee that Congress should focus it’s time with “ more important issues than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played."
"The consensus among the presidents, athletic directors, coaches and faculty from the 120 major universities is that the current system is the best," added Hancock.
The legislation was brought up three days after this year's BCS games were announced, which have left college football fans to question the fairness surrounding the selection of teams in the championship games.