Congressman calls hearing, says BCS ``deeply flawed''

[radek2166]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=...p&type=lgns


Congressman calls hearing, says BCS ``deeply flawed''

By JIM VERTUNO, AP Sports Writer
December 2, 2005
HOUSTON (AP) -- Calling the Bowl Championship Series "deeply flawed," the chairman of a congressional committee has called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, charged with regulating America's sports industry, announced Friday it will conduct a hearing on the BCS next week, after this season's bowl matchups are determined.

"College football is not just an exhilarating sport, but a billion-dollar business that Congress cannot ignore," said committee Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican. Barton's panel is separate from the House Government Reform panel that tackled steroids in baseball.

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The committee announcement called the hearing, scheduled for next Wednesday, a "comprehensive review" of the BCS and postseason college football.

"Too often college football ends in sniping and controversy, rather than winners and losers," Barton said. "The current system of determining who's No. 1 appears deeply flawed."

Barton said he does not have legislation in mind to force a change, but said he hopes congressional hearings will spur discussion and improvements. It won't be the first time Congress has looked at the BCS. In 2003, the Senate probed whether the system was unfairly tilted against smaller schools.

NCAA Division I-A football does not have a playoff. The Bowl Championship Series was established in 1998 to determine a national champion using the traditional bowl system and a mix of computer and human polls to set up a championship game.

Because of the controversy surrounding the bowl selection process last season, The Associated Press told BCS officials to stop using its writers polls in its formula.

The committee invited testimony from Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, the current chairman of the BCS.

"If members of the subcommittee have ideas on how the college football postseason can be improved, we welcome that input," Weiberg said.

"The current structure is designed to match the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams, identified through a ranking system, in a bowl game. It is an extension of the bowl system and a method to determine a national champion through the bowls," Weiberg said. "It has paired teams in bowl games that would not have been possible under the bowl arrangements existing before its creation."

Along with the acclaim of a national champion, the BCS also created a financial windfall with tens of millions of dollars at stake for teams and conferences who participate.

But it has seldom been without controversy.

For example, undefeated Southeastern Conference champion Auburn was undefeated in 2004 but was shut out of the BCS title game, which matched USC against Oklahoma. Utah also finished the season undefeated but could not play for the title.

The Jan. 4 Rose Bowl is the site of this year's BCS championship game. Other games with BCS ties are the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls, with a rotating schedule for hosting the championship matchup.


Christ it just keeps gettign better and better. How bout our politicians worry more about the country and less about sports?

[lastchance]

This is sad. While I think the BCS is a pretty lousy system, having it get fixed by Congress could be one of the lamest things I will experience in my lifetime.

[TomCollins]

After Baseball steroids and now trying to get TO reinstated, why not nationalize all sports? F'in idiot congressmen.

[radek2166]

Its sad [censored] state this country is in!!

[CORed]

The BCS is deeply flawed. Why Congress should be concerned with this, however, is beyond my comprehension. What are they going to do, legislatively mandate a playoff system for college football? Oh, after reding the whole article, I guess not. What's the point of holding hearings then? Is the country going to collapse because we can't agree who the National Champion of college football is?

If you were to replace the BCS with a playoff system, I'm sure there would be griping about who was picked for the playoffs and how they were seeded. I just don't see any reason for goernment involvement in any case.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
This is sad. While I think the BCS is a pretty lousy system, having it get fixed by Congress could be one of the lamest things I will experience in my lifetime.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think having Congress involved is the only conceivable way you could make the system worse than it already is.

[BillD]

BCS. Who gives a f***?

Political Asvisor Rule Number One...

If there is a group unto which thou canst pander, thou shalt pander.

[PhatTBoll]

College football is a multi-billion dollar business like any other. If there is manifest unfairness within it, then Congress should take a look.

Not saying that the BCS is necessarily that bad, but that's what the hearings are for, to find out.

Anybody who says things like "OMG doesn't Congress have better things to do, like run the country? ROFL!" needs to take a civics class. Congress does not "run the country." One of the things it DOES do, is regulate interstate commerce.

[JackWhite]

[ QUOTE ]
College football is a multi-billion dollar business like any other. If there is manifest unfairness within it, then Congress should take a look.


[/ QUOTE ]

The World Series of Poker has become a big business. If the blinds increase too fast, should Congress hold hearings.