8/4/2019 Legislate the Competition

1/2

polit ics

legislatecompetitionstory and photos by lauren shaWHAT DO HEALTH CARE REFORM,

HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES,

THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN ANDTHE NCAAS BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP

SERIES HAVE IN COMMON?

AN ARGUMENT IN CONGRESS.

Thanks to Utah senator andUtes fan, Orrin Hatch, thequestion of how college footballs

outright national champion should

be decided has entered the mix of

issues at hand in Congress. Hatch

wrote a 10-page letter to Presi-

dent Barack Obama in October

expressing the urgency of reform-

ing the current BCS into a playoff.

He based his argument on a likely

violation of the Sherman Anti-

trust Act, saying the bowl system

artificially limits the number of

nationally relevant bowl games

to five, which results in limited

opportunities for revenue and

spotlight for schools in smaller

Division I-A conferences. Such a

practice constitutes, to quote from

the law, a contract, combinationin the form of trust or otherwise,

or conspiracy, in restraint of trade

or commerce, Hatch argues.

While Hatch, the top republican

on the Senate Judiciary Subcom-

mittee on Antitrust, made his

assertion on a legitimate political

basis, perhaps the true foundation

of his argument is personal. In

2008, the University of Utah Utes

of the Mountain West Conference

went undefeated in regular seasonplay but fell into the shadows of

the more dominant Southeastern

and Big-12 Conferences for the

chance at the national title.

Samford University President

Andy Westmoreland says he

doesnt buy the allegation. Al-

ways involved in something like

that is somebody whose team is

not faring well, he says.

Hatch, though, is not the onlysomebody in Congress advocat-

ing the change. Reps. Joe Bar-

ton of Texas and Bobby Rush of

Illinois sponsored a bill passed

in December by a House Energy

and Commerce Committee sub-

committee that would make it il-

legal to promote a national cham-

pionship game unless it resulted

from a playoff.

These government officials haveexercised their power out of self-

ish desire and not selfless service

to their country, and not all their

colleagues appreciate it. Subcom-

mittee member Rep. John Barrow

of Georgia, although he does not

like the BCS, told ESPN.com,

With all due respect, I really

think we have more important

things to spend our time on.

BCS administration, university

officials, college football coachesand those directly associated with

the sport agree. BCS executive

director Bill Hancock told ESPN.

com that Congress surely has

more important ways to spend

taxpayer money than to dictate

how college football is played.

If Ive ever seen a case for the

government to stay out of, this is

it, Westmoreland says. It seems

to be the worst kind of govern-ment micromanaging.

Westmoreland also points out that

the government is much more

concerned with this issue than

the NCAA itself. As president of

an NCAA institution, Westmore-

land is directly involved with the

organization and receives regular

updates on issues and develop-

ments. The evolution of the bowl

system into a playoff system isnt

typically covered in such infor-mation. Westmoreland said its

because of all the NCAA institu-

tions in Divisions I, II and III,

this particular issue affects only a

small percentage of universities.

I dont know if this is a surprise,

but it doesnt pop up that often,

he says. The greater concerns

are about scholarship equivalen-

cies for other sports and schedul-

the

8/4/2019 Legislate the Competition

2/2

ing and more mundane issues.

This is a Hollywood-type inter-

est.

Indeed football fanatics and, now,

government officials have spot-

lighted this issue to appear much

more urgent than it really is.

Those directly involved arent in

any hurry to implement a playoffbecause they believe the bowl

system works. In fact, according

to the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, a

Jan. 12 survey of all 120 Divi-

sion I-A coaches said 73 percent

wanted to keep the current sys-tem.

Even Texas Christian Univer-

sity head coach Gary Patterson,

whose undefeated team got

bypassed for the 2009 national

championship game, says he is

an advocate. A playoff system

wouldnt make it any easier for

his smaller Division I-A team to

make it to the top, he says.

Samford University head footballcoach Pat Sullivan, who once

was head coach at TCU, has

experienced both systems and

said pros and cons exist in each.

Before arriving at Samford, he

was on the coaching staff at the

University of Alabama-Birming-

ham, who also competes for a

chance to end the season with

a bowl game. Samford, on the

other hand, though Division I, is

in the football championship sub-

division and competes for a spot

in the playoffs.

When I was in Division I-A, I

liked the bowl system becauseit gave a lot of kids who had the

opportunity to go to a bowl game

the chance to have an experi-

ence they would carry with them

for the rest of their lives, Sul-

livan says. In the championshipsystem that were in now, I look

forward to it. It gives us a goal

and something to strive for.

He says he doesnt prefer one

system over the other, and the

governments push shows the

evolution of media coverage and

the power of the dollar.

And money, Westmoreland says,

is what keeps many schools in

the business of the bowl game.With the BCS as

it exists, it is a cash

bonanza for the

institutions, and so,

understandably, the

institutions that have

done well under the

system are not too inclined to

make changes, he says. The

playoff system at our level works

because it is more about playing

the game and the honor of all of

it rather than millions of dollars

flowing to the institution.

Westmoreland added that the

money that flows to the NCAAmost likely contributes to the

stabilization of the bowl system.

The television revenue from the

31 bowl games is so immense

that it drives the majority of

NCAA budget considerations, he

says.

However, football fans in Con-

gress arent concerned with mon-

ey, but fairness. Westmoreland

said that while the bowl system is

often perceived as unfair, passing

a bill for its removal wont take

away the problems. If you try to

recreate it in some way with the

government exercising some kind

of control, youre going to have

the same kind of issues applied,

maybe not a congressman in

Utah, but a congressman in Geor-

gia whos miffed about it, so they

get into trying to alter it again,

he says. The government needsto stay out of this.

exodus33

IF IVE EVER SEEN A CASE FOR THE GOVERNMENT

TO STAY OUT OF, THIS IS IT. IT SEEMS TO BE THE

WORST KIND OF GOVERNMENT MICROMANAGING.

t: South Carolina at Tennessee, Oct. 31, 2009. right: South Carolinaat Alabama, Oct. 17, 2009. All three SEC teams qualifed for a bowlappearance, with the Alabama Crimson Tide becoming the BCS

champions.

e