Senate to begin BCS hearings

As the Senate is about to launch a hearing Tuesday into whether the Bowl Championship Series violates antitrust laws, Sen. Orrin Hatch said BCS officials are so arrogant they will likely refuse any change no matter what the hearings may show.

So he says antitrust probes by the Justice Department or private lawsuits might be the next steps coming to bring more fairness to the system of crowning a national college football champion.

"They're pretty arrogant, the ones who are running the BCS," Hatch told the Deseret News. "I think they're going to proceed regardless of what the hearings prove" to try to sign TV contracts over the next few days that could extend the current system for another four years.

"All the Division 1 conferences have been told that they have to sign the contract. But as I've said before, there are legitimate antitrust issues involved here. I hope that in the very least, the hearing will shed some light on these legal matters," Hatch said.

"After the hearing, there are a few scenarios that could take place. First, I expect we will get a clearer picture of the BCS problem, and as a result I think there's a decent chance the Justice Department will look into the system. In addition, we may very well see private litigation at some point down the line."

Hatch said informal discussions with Justice led him to believe a probe there could be possible, and investigations by such people as Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff into the BCS show that lawsuits by states or others are possible.

The Judiciary subcommittee hearing, which begins Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. MDT and will be webcast at judiciary.senate.gov, will feature University of Utah President Michael Young, University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman (a member of the committee overseeing the BCS), and antitrust lawyers.

Hatch said it takes courage by Young to testify because many non-BCS conference schools are afraid they might be treated even more unfairly if they criticize the BCS. Utah was the nation's only undefeated Bowl Division team last year at the end of the season, but was excluded from the championship game.

"I think it's courageous of President Young to be willing to testify tomorrow. He's a gutsy guy and I suspect his testimony is going to show how unfair this system is," he said. "He's a very fair-minded, good person and can see why the 'ins' continue to be the elite and act like the elite."

Hatch said he pushed for the hearing just before BCS contracts are extended to show that "the BCS is fundamentally unfair. I don't think there's any real fan of college football who would dispute that. And my biggest concern with the BCS is that it creates inherent disadvantages for those conferences that don't receive automatic bids."