In a letter this week, the department's antitrust chief, Christine Varney, asked NCAA President Mark Emmert why a playoff system isn't used in football, unlike in other sports; what steps the NCAA has taken to create one; and whether Emmert thinks there are aspects of the BCS system that don't serve the interest of fans, schools and players. "Your views would be relevant in helping us to determine the best course of action with regard to the BCS," she wrote. .... Under the BCS, the champions of six conferences have automatic bids to play in top-tier bowl games; other conferences don't. Those six conferences also receive more money than the other conferences. Attorney General Eric Holder referenced Varney's letter at a Senate hearing Wednesday, in response to a statement from Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and BCS critic. Hatch called the BCS a "mess" and said that "privileged conferences" have tremendous advantages over the unprivileged. "And I just hope that you'll continue to follow up on that particular issue," he said. "It's an important one, I think." "I don't disagree with you," Holder responded. "You and I have talked about this issue, and I think I'm free to say that we have sent a letter to the NCAA about this issue and will be following up." Before he was sworn in as president, Barack Obama said in 2008 that he was going to ''to throw my weight around a little bit'' to nudge college football toward a playoff system. http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefoo...-NCAA-why-there-is-no-football-playoff-050411 This is is funny campaign promise... but this is indicative a govt which is out of control. Federal payroll must be at least 50% too high if this is going on.
Sorry but I disagree. This is long overdue, but I don't trust the Holder Justice Department to pursue it aggressivley. Most likely a whitewash is in store. College athletics, specifically football, is a multimillion, probably billion, dollar enterprise run by a strict cartel, the NCAA. States cough up taxpayer money to build elaborate stadiums, coaches get multimillion dollar comp packages, TV revenues are enormous, and for some reason, they operate totally outside the purview of the same antitrust laws that hamstring pro leagues. The only difference is that the pros actually pay their players. Under the NCAA monopoly, college athletes are virtual slaves. Their wages are limited to "scholarships", a big joke since most get minimal schooling and few graduate. Even their recruitment is carefully regulated by a 900 page rulebook designed to severely limit competition for players.
Better subject for them to dig into............ http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=220045
Do they really have to go through this when it's all about the $$$$. Clearly if you show them that a playoff would yield more $$$, it would happen. Until then, there is zero motivation to change from something that makes so much $$$. Bowls are a huge business and I wouldn't want to give up that either if I was the NCAA. Now, I could never come out and say that, but I'd sure be finding any way possible to keep the current system in place for as long as possible. Surprise... it's about money.
Damn! Now Holder is going to screw up college football - the only sport I care about. I can see him now demanding that black players get paid and get a piece of the bowl game revenues. You read it here first!