“There is no shortage of opinion and ideas on how the BCS system should be changed,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, opening the Senate’s Antitrust Subcommittee Tuesday hearing on college football’s Bowl Championship Series.
In a packed hearing room, four individuals testified about the controversial and largely unpopular system by which college football selects its national champion. (A 2007 Gallup poll put the systems popularity at 15 percent of fans, making it one of the few things that are less popular than Congress itself.)
The 12-year-old BCS uses a combination of both polls and computer selections to determine team rankings and narrows the field to two teams that then play in the BCS National Championship Game. Critics of the system contend that it leaves out teams worthy of a title shot by only allowing the six major conferences to have automatic bids to the big games.
Two individuals — Barry Brett, from the law firm of Troutman Sanders, and Michael Young, president of the University of Utah — whipped off a series of complaints against the current system.
Among Young’s statements: “The BCS is perpetuating an unfair system;" "Without a doubt, the BCS embraces favoritism, rather than fairness;" "These other universities have no realistic chance even before their seasons begin to win a national championship;" "In this country, we should decide championships by competition and not by conspiracy;" "Instead, the BCS system, with its stranglehold on college football, sends the message that economic power, rather than athletic ability, is key to success.” - Politico Story
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