Reader comments
Fairness of BCS debated

Good job, Dr. Young. Way to try to expose the BCS for what it is. These hearings remind me of when tobacco executives were getting grilled by Congress - they know what they're doing is wrong, but they're trying to save their jobs anyway.

It's easy to say that non-BCS teams need to "schedule up", but the fact is not a lot of top-5 teams will play one because they have nothing to gain from it. The BCS saying that the lesser schools need to play them more often, while at the same time refusing to do so, is self-fulfilling prophecy.

Bottom line: If Utah 2008 would have had a BCS name on their helmets, and everything else were equal, they would have been playing for the national championship.

Side note: Utah played a tougher schedule than Florida last year - just look at how many top 25 teams each one played. So there goes that argument.

Attention Utah Schools...It's time to stop whining and start winning against tier one schools, EVEN IN THE PRE-SEASON!

all I can say is, "good luck."

I know a lot of people are going to say that the government should use their time and resources in other endeavors. But i sure am glad they are doing this. This is the biggest crime in sports and must be changed. I wish Auburn would get on board with the Mountain West because of what happened to them a few years ago but they are getting payed anyways.
I just dont understand what happens if the government rules against the BCS. How soon would they be forced to change?

Football is boring. Make the whole sport illegal.

At least back then the national championship was determined after all the bowl games were over. Now it doesn't even matter if you have identical records the title game determins the National Champion. No matter how good you look in your bowl game or no matter how good your record is your locked out.

i'm paying taxes in the wrong state.

Anonymous- Why are you even reading this article.
tings- This is the government's responsibility. College Football is a business, the same as AIG, Lyman Brothers, Microsoft etc. They need to be regulated. In the 14th amendment we as US citizens are guaranteed the equal protection of the law, and that includes unfair and illegal practices. This same amendment is how we overturned segregation in schools. Now lets end this segregation of "lesser colleges", or would you propose we go and join Weber State's league and just win their little championship every year?

It's amazing such an elitest mentality and outright arrogance is seen as a reputable response to a clear complaint. The cards are stacked against the "lower tier" conferences without a down being played.
President Young was spot on when he said, "I wish some of those teams would play us."
The upper tier schools don't want to play BYU or Utah or TCU (Oklahoma being an exception) because they know there's a very good chance they will lose.
This is an issue that all BYU, Utah, TCU, Utah State, anyone in a non-BCS conference should rally around.
Utah should have played for the NC. They couldn't have done anything more. Clearly the Nebraska gentleman didn't check his facts claiming Utah's schedule was weak. He just made his argument look worse.
Good luck Sen. Hatch. I'd love to see you sue these guys....

IF there were NO BCS schools then WE could compete equally and fairly with all tier 1 football teams, on the field and in recruiting.

NONE of top local recruits would any reason to go to USC, oregon, or notre dame,

and natioanl recruits would just much reason to come her as anywhere else.

IT a joke that we are supposed take what ever recruits we can get, even though many of the best will not come here because it is NOT BCS, and we are supposed to compete with the BCS schools, even many will not even play the local teams and certainly not IN Utah,

and then they get all money and best TV contracts, so they have all best facilities, and are on the BIG national cables channels etc,

and we suppose to compete against that?

So there is a reasonable complaint for the lack of fairness in the system.

Excellent arguments from President Young and Senator Hatch.

When organizations fail to follow the law, government has a responsibility to get involved. Follow the laws - if your can't the governement will get involved. It can't be any simpler than that. The Sherman Antitrust Law must be enforced.

The BCS just told us what we need to do...now for sure they will see that we never get it done. Good bye to playing BCS teams in our OOC schedules down the road but hey....now they will be able to Patsy up and take on more of the the Slippery Rocks and the Moorehead States.... What a crock

As a BYU fan, way to go Mr. President of Utah!! I totally support your comebacks.

The rich don't want to allow anyone else to belly up to the bar since that would cut into their profits. Also, how often do the "lower tier" prove their worth against the big teams? Often!!

It's time to turn the BCS "Go for the gold" into "Share the wealth"! Wow, that sounds familiar politically-speaking, did I just say that? (I'm gonna have to turn in my conservative membership card!)

I am proud to attend a university that has Michael K. Young as president. What a fantastic job he did. And that anti-BCS antitrust lawyer was much more fiery and persuasive than the other guy(and it helps when you have truth and common sense on your side).

What a shame that one of the most brilliant Legal minds in the entire country lives right here in Utah.... but because he has a Higher Calling he will not be brought into this issue. Sen Hatch...You could still get some very good guidence and legal advice from Dallin H. Oaks....after all he does have some old ties to this mess. The Justice Department quickly backed down on Title IX when he was selected to Represent the Church and BYU against the DOJ"S precedent case. To have him up against the BCS would be a cakewalk in comparison...that is unless the DoJ is on the BCS take and has their hands in their pockets.

I just watched part of the hearings on the Internet. After making his opening Chairman remarks, Democratic Senator Kohl turned the gavel over to Senator Hatch . . . AND LEFT!!!!! Then when the panned out to see the whole room . . . there were NO SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE, ONLY SENATOR HATCH IN THE CENTER OF THE HEAD TABLE!!! Only senate pages were found behind their absent senator's chairs!!

That alone tells me we could have solved the whole deal amicably, but nothing will still happen since the SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS DID NOT CARE ENOUGH TO EVEN ATTEND THE MEETING!!!!

If this is how the federal government works, kick 'em all out of office!

"Mommy! I didn't get picked.'

"Nanny government will make it right."

By stating that Utah played ranked teams I assume you are talking about the smell. The y and TCU were so over rated it was embarrasing. The Utes lucked out a couple of games against average teams. Certainly not a national calibar season.

This is why BYU needs to beat Oklahoma this fall...any Ute fan that doesn't see that is shooting a hole in our own ship. They said if the MWC shows up in the next few years we'll be part of the BCS. Then we'll be just like these fat cats and we won't care it's not a fair system cuz we'll be part of it!

Perlman said "the six major conferences are stocked with better teams that attract bigger TV audiences. And none of these conferences is willing to simply give away the money they could be making if they went out on their own". Mr. Pearlman revealed his hand and the truth. It's all about the money. One need look no further than that of Notre Dame. It's all about the number of the fan base, with the associated money-making potential of sponsers. Whether Notre Dame wins or loses, they are garaunteed TV coverage EVERY WEEK, due to the fan base. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure-out that the same thing applies to the old stand-bys, i.e., your Michigans, Floridas, Oklahomas, USCs, etc. They also have huge fan bases and therefore more money-making potential. College athletics has become a quasi-professional entity. You will NEVER see your U.of U.s, Boise States, Marshalls, South Floridas, etc., EVER become a serious BCS contender. It is very unfortunate, and I am personally a USC fan. The U. of U. got ripped-off.