Group looking to put an end to BCS mess

Should an undefeated Utah or Boise State be given the opportunity to play for a college football national title?

Yes, in a fair workplace.

No, in the current college football arena that uses a matrix of polls, rankings and computers that weigh heavily on automatic qualifying BCS conferences to spit out two contenders, this year each with a loss.

Ask USC and Texas how they feel about one-loss Oklahoma and Florida getting picked for a title game over their respective programs. And yes, what about the only undefeated teams in the country, Utah and Boise State?

A playoff, however simple, would give more than a couple of teams a chance to play for a title.

But we don't have such a thing.

The scary thing, according to Utah athletic director Chris Hill, is people in authority are afraid to even discuss it.

What can be done about it?

Several groups have tried to break down the BCS wall and create a more equitable way to determine a champion.

The latest ploy comes the American Amateur Athletics BCS Watchdog, a grass-roots fan legal fund that plans on raising a $30 million to sue the BCS for violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act. The nonprofit group launched a Web site (bcswatchdog.com) on Sunday, the same day the BCS announced its pairings for bowl games.

The site is insightful and educational.

AAAW's president and founder, Michael Capener, has local ties as a BYU graduate and has amassed an exhaustive data bank of BCS-related issues that clearly outlines a case against what has been determined by many to be a flawed and slanted system in determining the college football title.

Capener seeks to amass thousands of $3 donations and create a donor list linked to the 120 Division I (FBS) teams. The Web site has a message board, user poll and proposes answers to nagging questions and issues about the BCS that are indeed disturbing.

Front and center is the dubious misadventure by the NCAA in allowing the BCS to determine its football champion. The BCS goes against the mission statement and brand of the NCAA, which is to promote learning, balance, spirit, community, fair play and character.

Instead, the BCS promotes, elevates, floats and inflates its own six conferences at the expense of non-BCS leagues with automatic berths.