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Fairness of BCS debated

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Self-fulfilling prophecy | 4:56 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Coach | 4:57 p.m. July 7, 2009

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

Well.. | 5:00 p.m. July 7, 2009

all I can say is, "good luck."

Comments continue below

tings | 5:01 p.m. July 7, 2009

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?

Anonymous | 5:02 p.m. July 7, 2009

Football is boring. Make the whole sport illegal.

The old system was better | 5:09 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Anonymous | 5:14 p.m. July 7, 2009

i'm paying taxes in the wrong state.

Utah Cougar | 5:42 p.m. July 7, 2009

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?

BYU Fan | 5:53 p.m. July 7, 2009

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....

RE: Coach | 6:04 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

UtahFan | 6:09 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Darwinism at it's best. | 7:06 p.m. July 7, 2009

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

Eugene | 7:15 p.m. July 7, 2009

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!)

U. Student | 7:21 p.m. July 7, 2009

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).

Scoobie | 7:26 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Eugene | 7:43 p.m. July 7, 2009

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!

Anonymous | 8:12 p.m. July 7, 2009

"Mommy! I didn't get picked.'

"Nanny government will make it right."

Ranked? | 8:16 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Ute Fan | 8:37 p.m. July 7, 2009

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!

socalmon | 8:38 p.m. July 7, 2009

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.

Anonymous | 8:40 p.m. July 7, 2009

It's all about the money, not schedules or championships! The fact that the poorest teams in BCS conferences earned more revenue than UofU is going to cause the BCS a lot of problems.

Lets focus on the right argument | 8:41 p.m. July 7, 2009

The lack of opportunity to play in the BCS "championship" game should never be used to lead off the attack on it. At most, winning that argument would only require the BCS to stop using the word "championship" or "title" to describe its arbitrary, popularity-contest selection of two teams at the end of the regular season (and, in that vein, it is worth remembering that a judicial dissolution of the BCS probably would not get us any nearer to the only legitimate solution to the "championship" dilemma--a genuine playoff established and run by the NCAA). The best anti-BCS (not to mention anti-trust) argument is the fact buried several paragraphs into the article and cited almost as an afterthought: Utah received less BCS money than Washington last year. That, in a nutshell, is why the BCS stinks. It is a form of sports apartheid because it is explicitly designed to hoard the lions share of the bowl money within the privileged BCS conferences.

Anonymous | 8:51 p.m. July 7, 2009

Ok, I get it. The BCS is unfair. What gives Congress the right or responsibility to make them be fair? Under what Constitutional provision does the Senate have authority here? I don't remember seeing football in the Bill of Rights, or in article 1, section 8. Must have missed that one.

Anonymous too | 9:06 p.m. July 7, 2009

Congress has NO responsibility in this matter. It has MORE IMPORTANT things to worry about, don't you think?

Eugene | 9:10 p.m. July 7, 2009

Come, on, Anonymous, wake up and do your homework!

If during any congressional hearing Congress were to discover a violation of a federal statute (i.e. the Sherman Anti-Trust Act) they can send a referral to the Attorney General's office requesting an investigation of wrongdoing. Factfinding hearings are part of the congressional duties ever since the beginning of this nation.

The BCS failed to support their position and truly reflected their level of arrogance and elitism towards the non-BCS members. The anti-trust lawyer for the Mountain West was hugely successful in his argument in favor of investigating the BCS.

re: Ute Fan at 8:37 | 9:11 p.m. July 7, 2009

As a BYU fan, I agree. It's very important for the Y to win that game. Now, go around to your fellow Ute fans and poll them and ask how many will be cheering for BYU that game. If you ask a decent group I'd guess maybe MAYBE 20% will be cheering for the Y, the other 80 for Oklahoma.

Anonymous | 9:32 p.m. July 7, 2009

It's called anti-trust law. Any "conspiracy" to control money is illegal in the United States. When the worst team in a BCS conference earns more than the best team in a non-BCS conference, when millions of dollars are at stake, it smells like anti-trust.

Nebraska Fan | 9:55 p.m. July 7, 2009

The BCS is one of the worst things going on in this country!

MONEY? | 10:13 p.m. July 7, 2009

Did Utah give the money back they were paid for being in the BCS last year?

As per the National Championship, in the old system they would have no better of a shot then they did in the BCS. True one poll is obligated to vote the winner of the BCS game, but the other is NOT!

I'm not sure of the legal aspects of the Sherman Anti-trust laws, but I'm sure it's a "stretch" interpretation by Hatch and others to make some noise and gather a few votes. I love football and I agree there are issues with the system... BUT... I'd rather see Congress and others spend time on issues more 'pressing' to our Nation. Removal of the BCS will not change our economy. Removal will not help the homeless. Removal will not improve our education system. Removal will not....

Some very Uneducated people! | 10:33 p.m. July 7, 2009

Sometimes you wonder why some people post on the message board. Saying Utah's wins over top 25 teams were not impressive because the anonymous poster feels those top 25 teams were over-rated. Get a life! Others saying Congress has more important things to worry about? Like what, Congress has not done anything in years! "Or football is boring, it should be illegal" I guarantee that was posted by a soccer fan. YAWN. If you don't care about the topic don't read it. We are all dumber for reading your comments!

MWC | 11:25 p.m. July 7, 2009

You are a sad strange conference and you have my pity.

Tomcat | 11:37 p.m. July 7, 2009

Every other college sport has a national championship playoff system. The Division 2 and 3 colleges have a playoff for a national championship. It is just not right to tell the athletes at all the non-Bcs schools that they are not good enough, before the first coin toss of the season. Maybe the president will give us a Bcs Czar.

Will Smithrock | 12:08 a.m. July 8, 2009

Senator Hatch is sadly misinformed and is wasting everyone's time for even pursuing this. The only effect it will have, if the BCS were to be abolished, is a return to the old bowl system. Actually, that wouldn't be that bad. An undefeated or 1-loss BYU or Utah would still have a good shot at being invited to the Fiesta Bowl, and possibly the Holiday or Cotton Bowl. A playoff would ruin Division 1-A college football, plain and simple. I'll take the BCS any day over a playoff. Were it not for the BCS, Utah would have likely played in the Fiesta or Holiday Bowl last season, instead of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Savant | 1:07 a.m. July 8, 2009

Why is Congress involved? Because college football is a big money business. Any other industry would have been called on the carpet and corrected a long time ago.

And some of you people on here slamming the Utah schools and their cush schedules were the same ones predicting a 35 point Alabama win in the Sugar Bowl. Don't think we've forgotten.

Sham | 6:44 a.m. July 8, 2009

All of this interest is based on the false idea that sports are fair and the best team wins. From elementary playgrounds to little league through high school, college and professional sports, there is no fairness, the best teams do not always win and yet millions of Americans have nothing better to do than spend their life glued to the TV or spending outrageous fortunes attending live games.

Sports are not fair, life is not fair, spend your time with something productive, get a life!

B | 7:21 a.m. July 8, 2009

The government is involved in MLB, NBA, NFL, and NCAA because these industries have antitrust exemptions, thus the government has a right to regulate these industries. If you want to be in an industry that has an antitrust exemption, you play by the government's rules.

Name | 7:21 a.m. July 8, 2009

"If you ask a decent group I'd guess maybe MAYBE 20% will be cheering for the Y, the other 80 for Oklahoma."

You are right and that is the reality of the rivalry, fortunately whether or not any Ute fans 'cheer' for BYU, it is irrelevant to the outcome.

Though I'm sure, like myself, the true majority of Ute fans would appreciate a cougar win. The conference needs BYU to beat OU and FSU - TCU to beat UV and Clemson - and my Utes to beat Oregon and well Oregon.

Cats | 7:37 a.m. July 8, 2009

This BCS justification is a MASS OF RATIONALIZATION. The reason Congress is involved is because there is anti-trust violation and there is a great deal of money at stake.

Senator Hatch is doing a good job representing the interests of the schools in Utah. Let's have a play-off system and then let the chips fall where they may.

Utah's non-conference schedule? | 7:54 a.m. July 8, 2009

Look at Utah's schedule . . . does BYU have to carry all the water for this cause?

Anonymous | 8:09 a.m. July 8, 2009

All of the MWC teams need to win their out of conference games. that includes all teams. I do want BYU to beat OU, and I am a life long U fan. and FSU. Utah needs to beat Oregon and Louisville. But they also need to beat their other out of conference opponents (like San Jose St, Utah St, etc). As far as the rivalry, every game should result in a conference title for the winner. And hopefully it will be Utah.

The BCS is far better than the old bowl system. Utah would have played Arizona last year if the old bowl system was in place. I am on t he fence with a playoff system, just because I have no faith that the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 or Pac 10 (ACC and Big east are not relative) will force the structure of it in a manner that produces similar results to the BCS. I could see a MWC or WAC team having to travel east to play road games in two consecutive weeks, which is a huge disadvantage, regardless of what their record was.

Anonymous | 8:25 a.m. July 8, 2009

If a BCS school plays only other BCS schools (i.e., conference), and that conference stinks, they still get the benefit from which non-BCS schools are excluded. Comparing schedules is ridiculous. Non-BSC schools frequently beat BCS schools. The only way to see if non-BCS conferences can compete with BCS schools is to play more, not rely on an out-of-date model. The bottom line is that DOJ will need to enforce anti-trust laws or Congress will need to enact legislation. I don't think the political side will allow either to happen, part because the BCS has influence with a large part of Congress, and in part because there are bigger problems to deal with. The BCS ain't going to change the status quo. So, Orrin, find a real solution. Will it go away now you have had your hearing?

Anonymous | 8:40 a.m. July 8, 2009

I want playoffs. Can you imagine December madness? It would be great.

Wasting our tax dollars | 8:54 a.m. July 8, 2009

Hatch's grandstanding BCS "hearing" just exemplifies the warped sense of priorities among the ruling elites in Washington.

Some schools spend huge sums on SPORTS, and sports rivalries are fun and games (literally) for hordes of fans and alumni. But they are not things that the federal government has the least business regulating, investigating, or "fixing" in any way.

Hatch would better serve Utah if he used the time to plot strategy and take action to thwart Obama's destruction of the American economy, or block confirmation of Obama's nomination of zealous extremists to numerous position.

Why can't Hatch investigate something really important like ACORN corruption, voter intimidation, the failure of the "stimulus" pork barrel, or even the corrupt actions of Congressmen like Murtha, Jefferson, and others?

Nope, gotta waste time and money sucking up to home state voters because a football team got their feelings hurt, and no national title.

These clowns do not even read the bills they vote on, but want to fix football championships!

Scoobie | 8:58 a.m. July 8, 2009

The problem is the approach...All that is happening now is just spinning wheels and wasting time which the BCS knows they have plenty of time to do. This approach is actually delaying any possible progress. For Sen Hatch and the MWC conference are trying to bite off too big of a chunk in suggesting anything over a 4 team playoff. A 16 team playoff will never happen...The major conference ties, & TV contracts with not only the 4 major bowls but all the subsiderary bowls as well, will pretty much kill that approach. And for even an 8 team playoff there is going to have to be an awful lot of leveling done before that can happen...years down the road.

You have got to go at the BCS one piece at a time. When there is an undefeated non BCS team standing at the end of regular season play there needs to be a Wild Card added to the Championship Deck. Suggest a resonable compromise and go for a 4 team playoff with the Undefeated NonBCS team put up against the #4 team in the BCS poll before final selection. Winner swaps places in final selection Poll...Simple

Sammy | 8:59 a.m. July 8, 2009

Rugby is a better sport. Way too much attention is spent on football.

Separation of Powers | 9:17 a.m. July 8, 2009

If there is fraud or unfair practice in the BCS system (and I believe there is reasonable argument to such), it should be settled in the courts. Congress has no business holding "trials" - a judicial function.
The three branches of the government need to get back in line. Congress should not judge or execute orders. The President should not judge or legislate (signing statements, executive departments, etc). And the courts should not execute orders or legislate.
We the people should hold them accountable by electing representatives that understand the proper role and Constitutional role of government.
Let this BCS matter be solved, but let it be solved properly.

Isn't it logical? | 9:20 a.m. July 8, 2009

Ok, I get it that people will say Utah played a soft schedule. They beat some good teams, but it took a lucky bounce here and there to get two of the tough wins. I have two responses for that.

First, did anyone see the Florida v. Alabama game? How do you think Florida won that?

Second, Utah BEAT Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Basically, that validates the undefeated season regardless of how lucky some wins were. The Alabama win was a savage beat down with luck not playing any part in it. Utah proved they deserved to be there, if not even proving they deserved Florida. Stop complaining about the Strength of Schedule. The win over Alabama invalidates that argument.

Utah Man | 9:23 a.m. July 8, 2009

Congress has more important things to do? Have you been paying attention to what the Congress has done in the last 15yrs? They were debating a "Green" bill a few weeks ago! Does that help the economy? The whole reason for the BCS debate is the MONEY! Football revenues pay for alot more than football on college campuses. It's education dollars that we have no shot at getting. How is that fair? I think you would all become alot more interested in this fairness argument if you realized the impact these dollars can have. Forget Championships for a minute, Urban Meyer knows he has an asterik next to his Championship from last year. The whole point is the MONEY. The University of Washington did not win a game last year and they ended up with more MONEY than UTAH and Utah received about $17 million dollars. Each school shares this money with other schools in their conference. What if BYU & TCU (Which they deserved) had played in a BCS calibur bowl. The MONEY would be tremendous for our conference and OUR schools. GO SENATOR HATCH! GO BYU & BEAT OU! GO UTES! The only "UNDEFEATED TEAM" in America BCS/URBAN!

Anonymous | 9:24 a.m. July 8, 2009

Face it. It is a lot easier to be ranked by the end of the season in the Mountain west then some other conferences. In the MWC you play 2 big games a year. I would say 8-12 schools would have gone undefeated with Utahs schedule. For those people that say the big boys will not play Utah well it was Utah that PULLED OUT OF THE TEXAS GAME that was going to be played last year. Utah didn't want to play Texas becasue they knew they would get crushed. OU played TCU and crushed them 35-10 and they were the 2nd best team in the Mountain west. Yes utah played and beat a good but flawed Alabama team. Utah played 3 tough games all year were they had to really get up for. Texas had to go through a 4 game stretch of OU, Missouri, Okalohoma State, and then Texas Tech. Teams can get up for 1 or 2 games a year and pull an upset but when you cant take a week off it is more difficult. Im not a Utah hater but the conference needs to get stronger to gain respect

Fan | 9:26 a.m. July 8, 2009

Why not spend time working to correct all the real problems we have in America rather than worry about the BCS. Sen. Hatch needs to get his priorities in order. Maybe it is time for a change in the Utah rep. to Washington. Lets get real.

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