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Congressional hearing puts BCS officials on defensive

I think it would be better to go back to the old system. At least a team like Utah would have the chance for a National Championahip. By all Standards, they were the NC but because the BCS does not choose them, they are left in the dark. No one from the BCS would select a team that is not an automatic bid to the BCS Series for the Championship game. I like the legislation proposed that the BCS could not use "National Champion" if there is no playoff. Sounds fair to me. They just don't want to let go of the money, pure and simple.

I can not fathom that the ACC Commissioner, who is also head of the BCS, really believes it when he says that the lesser bowls will be threatened...and that is a justification for the continuing the rigged system.

Teams can still go to bowls without being in the playoffs. Duh. No one is saying that there can't be non-playoff bowls. Duh. When 6-6 Iowa plays 7-5 Virginia in the Ticky-Tacky Bowl, they are under the current system not in a playoff and not playing for the national championship. Under the playoff system, since only the top eight of 10 teams in the rankings might be included, there are still going to plenty of opportunities for the 7-5 and 6-6 teams to go bowling. Geez.

WRONG ANSWER! A playoff system would simply mean, the big conferences wouldn't be able to steal from the smaller conferences anymore, and the collusion between the big conferences, ESPN and ABC would be shattered. That's all.

Most fans recognize that some of the bowl games would have to go away and they are perfectly okay with it. The real fact is that playoff system determines the champion at every other level of organized football except the FBS. Why is that? It's not to please the fans that's for sure. I think what Mr. Swafford really means is that his 3rd mansion in Malibu is in peril.

Replace the bowls with playoff games. Instead of it calling it the "Tostitos Fiesta Bowl" call it the "Tostitos Semi-final" or something like that. Sponsors will still put in the big money, people will still buy tickets. I don't see how they will lose money accept that they are afraid their teams won't get to those games.

this is a desperate, non sequitur argument from the head that is about to go under the guillotine. Why couldn't conferences keep their bowl alliances for teams that aren't playoff bound? Furthermore, why couldn't separate stages of the playoffs be their own bowl games? the final 8 teams would play in the cotton, sugar, orange, and fiesta bowls, then the semi finals would be called something else and then the championship game? Loss of revenue? A college football playoff would put March Madness to shame viewership-wise.

The BCS dons say:

"...a switch to a playoff system...would threaten the existence of celebrated bowl games."

Why? A playoff would pit a bunch of top 8/12/16 teams against each other multiple times. HELLO!!! Is it just me that thinks this would be the most profitable venture in sports history? I normally couldn't care less about non-BYU football, but I would go out of my way to watch some playoff games.

A playoff would be great, and the BCS dons ought to consider it.

However:

"...favored by fans, President Barack Obama and some lawmakers..."

"[The BCS guy] was appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's commerce, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, some of whose members back legislation aimed at prodding the BCS to switch to a playoff system."

Why is this an issue at the highest levels of government? Aren't there more important problems Congress should be addressing? Oh, now I remember: the current Congress caused those problems. So they're turning to something they have no right or reason to regulate--football games--so they can look semi-competent. It won't work.

The people running the NCAA are a bunch of whimps. They should not have let this get out of control by allowing a few conferences to wrest away from them the responsibility of determining a national champ.

So now everyone is running to the Federal government to fix things. That's just great. Yeah we need to do that because our Federal government doesn't have anything else more importnat to work on and they really are the only ones who can fix stuff for us and make our lives better (barrrrrrrf!!). The non-automatic bid conferences need to sue the NCAA to make them get their butts in gear on this.

It's about time. As a dyed-in-the-wool Cougar, I think that Utah got robbed this year.

It's not right for one organization to have a monopoly on chamionships and who gets to make the big bucks and who doesn't. It's UNAMERICAN. This is definitely an anti-trust issue and it needs to be corrected.

All the smaller conferences have playoffs and there's no reason that division 1A can't.

Amen to Self Serving.

There are too many bowls anyway and the system is outdated. A playoff is the only way to go.

Time for the government to break up this BC$ Monopoly. There is very little debate among fans that the system begats haves and have-nots.

Wake Forest...a football team in a BC$ *magic* and *superior* conference that gets all that extra money? Just sent their FIRST, read as numero uno, football player to the NFL draft EVER this year. How many has Utah had over the years? BYU?

That there is even a debate here is laughable.

Are we really spending taxpayer money on this issue?

Re: wallofvoodoo

Do you have any idea how much money local (ie non-BCS) schools are losing out on each year by not being part of this elitist group ? .. money that now has to comes out of your pocket as taxes to support the schools.

A true playoff would mean many millions in revenue each year to the non-BCS schools. It would also put them on equal footing as far as recruiting goes. Revenue to universities has been tied to how well their athletic teams do so non-BCS schools may be able to generate more revenue from their alumni if they were part of a true playoff as well.

If the BCS monopoly can be brought down, it's taxpayer money well spent.

It's all about the $$$. Once they figure out a system by which current BCS conferences can continue to benefit financially from a playoff system, they will switch to a playoff system. It's about time!

The BCS is how the religious right of the Republican party treats Mormons. They'll let them in once in a while but don't try and grasp any power or be the presidential nominee.

The BCS is not about money. A playoff system would actually bring in much more money. The BCS is about producing a national champion and at the same time maintaining the great tradition of college bowl games. Injuries are an important factor in big time college football, and after a grueling season, teams need two or three weeks off in order to mend, prior to the bowl season.

The BCS is a BIG improvement over the previous system, where top ranked teams seldom played each other in bowl games.

In the NCAA Basketball Tourney, all teams except one return home a loser. In the BSC/Bowl system, half the teams return home winners.

The BCS is great. Just keep tweaking it.

Hardly any bowl games are not directly connected to BCS conferences. Reduce the number of bowls, reduce BCS revenue.

The whole bowl system is designed to enrich BCS schools.

Let's just have a playoff.

Put the NCAA back in charge.

Are you smoking ganja? Are you un-American? Do you even realize how the BCS is set up? The BCS is ALL.... repeat.... ALL about money for any conference recognized by it and about keeping that money away from the non-BCS conferences. It is laughable that they feel they are doing this as un-biased as possible. That comment reminds me of the tobacco industry.. "We don't BELIEVE that nicotine is addictive...." Bottom line here: The BCS system PROMOTES inequality and costs schools and universities outside of their beloved conferences MILLIONS of dollars anually in lost revenue. They argue that the system is set up to produce a TRUE national champion. How many years has that comment been in question? (Even by teams INSIDE the BCS conferences....) I am disgusted by the BCS and what it has done to college football since it's inception. The minute it is done away with and move to a playoff system, there will again be a TRUE national champion.

A playoff in College FB wouldn't work. You'd have to always play at 1 teams' home field, which in the case of travel may be a huge loss for the visiting team's fan base-UT v AL? If they were played at the same venue, how many of you would stay home for the first game, in hopes that your team would win and go to the next game? The pro playoff counts on season ticket holders excersing their right to tickets, AND they have 60-70k seat stadiums. Many college campii do not have such large venues. And in college basketball, you have three-four games in a weekend which attracts large crowds. Not the same in football.
Pragmatically, I don't see much success in a playoff system.
The real problem is the amount of money that is doled out to major conf's and the $0 given to the rest of the Div 1 schools.

The BCS is a monopoly that automatically eliminates half the college football teams in the nation from ever having a chance at the NC. If were really about choosing a national champion they wouldn't have "automatic" berths to BCS bowl games and leave all other conferences out. Wake up. You've bought into the propaganda that the BCS spews. Kind of reminds me of the tobacco companies claiming that tobacco doesn't cause health problems. Doh!!