Obama Wants Playoffs

Big legal troubles could be in store for the college football playoff system that the Utah attorney general says disadvantages his and other states.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Tuesday that the Bowl Championship Series could face multistate litigation — and even federal antitrust action — over the way the BCS chooses its championship game participants.

“This could be a multi-hundred million lawsuit,” Shurtleff told Legal Newsline, adding that litigation would be a last resort for him. “Ultimately the goal is not to get money but to get them to change the system to be more competitive.”

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/225870-utah-ag-takes-football-antitrust-case-to-holder-varney

Utah became a central character during the 2000s in the volatile debate over the way college football decides a national champion.

The debate smoldered throughout American culture even during a painful recession at the end of the decade. If college football, now in its own second century, evolves from a bowl system into a playoff system, people of the Beehive State will have their fingerprints all over the ground-breaking shift of the status quo. If the Bowl Championship Series — disliked by 85 percent of Americans in a Gallup Poll — is toppled, America can thank key Utah figures and events for doing a chunk of the work.

This testy fight involves billions of dollars and pits traditional storied bowl games and six elite athletic conferences in a fight to keep a firm grip on money, prestige and the road to national titles away from leagues like the Mountain West, of which Utah and BYU are charter members.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705354693/2000s-The-First-Decade-2-Utah-at-front-of-BCS-battles.html

Despite misgivings and an ongoing challenge to the BCS structure, the Mountain West Conference reluctantly signed on to the BCS bowl agreement with ESPN. The MWC had been the only major-conference holdout.

University of Utah president Michael K. Young, chair of the MWC board of directors, announced Wednesday: “The Mountain West believes it has no choice at this time but to sign the agreements. If a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football programs and student-athletes.”

The MWC’s proposal for a modified playoff system and change in the BCS selection process was voted down by the presidential oversight committee.

http://www.denverpost.com/colleges/ci_12790082

RCS: Most college football fans wouldn’t know it, but you may represent the best hope to reform the nearly universally detested BCS. Other than the President, you have been the most prominent and outspoken BCS opponent in Washington. In fact, you’ve previously held hearings about the BCS and you’re on the record calling the BCS “Un-American.”

But, although loathed, the BCS is the status quo, has some powerful support and has proven resilient. Practically speaking, what can Congress do bring about BCS reform?

Sen. Hatch: As far as I’m concerned there are antitrust issues involved here, and I don’t think there’s any doubt that college football fits as a commercial enterprise. These BCS schools – in fact all of the schools of any size – market there teams like they would a commercial product. In the case of BCS schools they receive substantial revenue in return. Some of them outside of BCS do too, but certainly they get an advantage if they play in a BCS conference. Also, it isn’t just the schools and conferences that are involved here. There are the TV networks, the corporate bowl sponsors, and others as well.

Our antitrust laws are designed to prevent people from acting in agreement and coordination to reduce competition. I think that’s precisely what we have going on with the BCS.

I’m a member of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, and its Ranking Member. We already have plans to hold another hearing to look into the antitrust implications of the BCS. Hopefully we’ll be having that hearing within the next few weeks. And we’ll look at these issues very soon. Like I say, I think there’s a pretty clear case that the BCS is exclusionary. There’s no question that the way they’ve designed it, has a negative impact on the schools left on the outside. So I think it’s important for us to determine whether or not the system is legal, and personally I don’t think it is.

http://www.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/06/12-questions-with-senator-orrin-hatch.html

Utah’s senators are worried that the Bowl Championship Series is looking at extending its TV contract by four years, which would lock in a system they say is unfair.

So Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, wrote to the BCS Friday to complain. “We have serious concerns about what appears to be an attempt to preserve the status quo for the foreseeable future,” they said.

They complained that exploring extending the current TV contract comes despite “growing concern among elected officials regarding the BCS system, not to mention the complaints of millions of college football fans and consumer throughout the country.”

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705302362/Hatch-Bennett-new-BSC-complaint.html

Utah has BCS Lawsuit in Mind

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4030992

Already fighting off demands for a playoff system from President Barack Obama and leaders of the U.S. Congress, the Bowl Championship Series will soon face a more serious threat: an antitrust lawsuit from the attorney general of Utah that could dismantle its postseason championship scheme.

Mark Shurtleff, the Utah attorney general, is gathering contracts, statistics, economic data and experts, and expects to be able to file suit against the BCS in June.

“From the very first kickoff of the college football season, the BCS uses its monopoly powers to put more than half of the schools at a disadvantage,” Shurtleff said. His investigation comes after an undefeated University of Utah team was relegated to the Sugar Bowl in January with no chance to play for a national championship.

The Legislature honored the University of Utah football team Monday, praising the undefeated Utes as the true national champion.

“A hearty congratulations, gentlemen, you do us proud,” said House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, suggesting that perhaps the officials with the Bowl Championship Series might note the resolution and “bend a little bit.”

The Utes went 13-0 this season — the nation’s only undefeated major college program — and thumped Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The team finished second in The Associated Press football poll behind Florida.

The Senate voted to send a copy of the resolution to President Barack Obama, who has expressed support for a college football playoff.

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_11664515

Utah’s lawmakers contend the BCS formula is flawed and gives schools from the major conferences an unfair advantage that would make it impossible for a school like BYU to win the national title, as the Cougars did in 1984.

“You look at what happened this year, the University of Utah did everything physically possible to win that championship,” said Senate Majority Whip Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City. “Unless they are arbitrarily put in to that championship game, they will never have the chance.”

However, despite calls from fans and President Obama himself, a playoff is unlikely anytime soon. The BCS recently signed a four-year, $125 million deal with ESPN to televise the BCS national championship game, and the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls, starting January 2011 and running through the 2014 bowls.

The current deal with Fox runs out after next season. The Rose Bowl has its own separate TV deal with ABC that runs through January 2014.

“You know, when this comes down to it, it’s all about money. The fact is the BCS alliance controls large dollars, and to not be able to be in that group is not right,” Jenkins said. “There’s time to hold a playoff. You just got to do it.”

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner and BCS coordinator John Swofford has said the majority of university presidents and athletic directors oppose an expansive NFL-style playoff for major college football and that the BCS is in compliance with federal law.

Utah politicians are undeterred, though. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is investigating whether the BCS is violating federal antitrust laws and Gov. Jon Huntsman has suggested having Florida and Utah play an extra game at a neutral site, which is highly unlikely.

Shurtleff and other leaders have taken some flak for using state resources on college football, but they say it’s worth it.

“When you talk about the millions of dollars that potentially come to our universities through these programs, I hardly think it’s frivolous,” said Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse.

The Utah House is expected to approve Senate Joint Resolution 11 later this week.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i0gQ5VJXH4UoAZXfT_CHS6Wy9H2AD968ADQG2

Senate Joint Resolution 11: http://le.utah.gov/2009/bills/sbillint/sjr011.htm