How to take down the BCS
It’s easy to see why the BCS is one of the worst things that’s ever happened to college football. The vast majority of fans agree that it needs to be changed or completely replaced. There exist differing views regarding what system should replace the BCS, and of those, Sloppy Joe’s is one of the best. However, we’ll never see that or any proposal like it come to fruition until the current BCS structure gets the boot. There are also many differing opinions on how to make this happen. Let’s tackle those (pun intended) one by one.
- Boycott the National Championship game – While I respect Dan for this suggestion and see how it could make a difference theoretically, I just don’t see it happening practically. At the end of the day, too much of us love to watch quality college football even more than we hate the BCS. Our love for football is what fuels the hatred in the first place. Sadly, not enough people will jump on this bandwagon.
- Boycott the sponsors of the BCS bowls – A good example of this would be to use UPS instead of FedEx or to stop buying Tostitos products. Again, you have the problem of not enough people jumping on the bandwagon. It’s highly unlikely that enough people will join together to make a noticeable dent in the sales of these huge companies during the BCS timeframe.
- Purchase anti-BCS apparel and wear it to the BCS games - This is a good thought, but all these different websites are offering for everyone to purchase their T-shirts in an attempt to make this happen. All these shirts come in different varieties and colors. At the end of the day, they’re just getting you to buy their merchandise under the guise that everyone else will, too and everyone will be unified. Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that everyone managed to purchase the exact same shirt and wear it to the exact same game. It still wouldn’t do anything meaningful. It’s just reinforcing what everyone already knows: that we hate the BCS. We would continue to be ignored by the powers that be.
- Do nothing – With all the conference realignment speculation going on, there’s a chance that the BCS will HAVE to change as a result. Or maybe Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s lawsuit or Senator Hatch’s antitrust inquiries will produce a favorable result without anyone else having to worry about it. This is a lazy approach, though. I’d rather not rely on chance.
- (this is my solution) Reach out to those in high places - I know this is pretty vague, but hear me out. The BCS Officials have made it plainly clear that they couldn’t give a flying fart about the fact that everyone hates their system. They just claim that everyone who doesn’t like it is too stupid to understand it. Dirty elitists…. Anyway, in that case, we need to reach out to those who possibly will listen to us. Write your university president and athletic director in the school where you have or are attending. Write the coach of your school’s team. Write your conference commisioner. Write the NCAA president!! It’s true that they may ignore us as well, but there’s a better chance of them listening than the BCS screwballs. These are people in power who have a potential to make a difference. Additionally, reach out to your Congressmen (and Congresswomen, if you want to be politically correct). If you don’t know how, this link will help. Tell them to follow Senator Hatch’s lead. It’s our elected representatives’ job to represent their constituents (us). Emphasize how much you hate the BCS and want it to be changed. If they say it’s not worth their time or that Congress shouldn’t get involved, spread the word about their response and don’t vote for them next elections. Elections are coming up this November. Find out who of those running for office will get involved in fighting the BCS in Congress, and then vote for those who will. And when you’re reaching out to these people, I have a few suggestions: 1) don’t make your letters/e-mails lengthy. There’s a better chance of getting them read and considered if they’re shorter. 2) Make it personal. Again, there’s a better chance they’ll get read. 3) Don’t just tell them you hate the BCS, let them know briefly that you support Dan’s system and why. If we’re going to replace the current system, we might as well get it done right the first time. I’d hate for them to go to all that work and then just get a 4-team playoff.
If we can all do #5, and get everyone we know to do the same, then we have a chance of getting something done. It’s unfortunate that Congress may be our only hope to debunk these losers. The majority of conference commissioners, college presidents, athletic directors, and coaches have shown us in different cases that they’re content with the status quo. Congress may just be our last resort. As Senator Hatch stated, “No one wants to see Congress get involved here, including me. But if this response [Hancock's response to the Hatch/Baucus letter] is any indication, there may not be any other option.”
Are there any other ways that the average shmuck like me could help take down this system?
Comments
I agree with you that I hate the BCS. Beyond that, I disagree with everything in this article.
In the grand scheme of things, the BCS issue isn’t that important. Write your congressman? Make voting decisions based on a politician’s stance regarding the BCS? Talk about misplaced priorities. The BCS is not one of the “issues of our time.” Personally, if a politician decides to spend a significant amount of time focused on the BCS they deserve to get voted out of office for wasting time. The BCS is insignificant politically.
“No one wants to see Congress get involved here, including me. But if this response [Hancock's response to the Hatch/Baucus letter] is any indication, there may not be any other option.” Nonsense. Hatch as well as the Utah AG only care about this because they live in Utah. All this is nothing more than “bread and circuses” to get stupid voters to vote for them.
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Washington State Senate
Senator Lisa Brown
3rd Legislative District
Senate Majority Leader
Spokane, WA 99201
January 11, 2011
Dear Senator Brown:
This responds to the December 22, 2010 meeting with Public Policy advisor Marcus Riccelli. Mr. Riccelli asked me to provide information on my primary objective during the 112th Congress. An official petition, antitrust complaints, and State Rule of Reason litigation against the University of Washington and Washington State University and other efforts will be taken to complete the objective to convince the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue the Association of Conferences for lack to respond to consumer preference by not implementing a less-restrictive alternative for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) event.
The Kennedy Proposal (KP) is an expansion package that would afford a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) playoff structure while ensuring the BCS met its stated objective. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Wiech responded to Senator Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) letter to President Barack Obama asking for a DOJ investigation into the BCS for violation under the antitrust laws, stating they may ask a government or non-governmental entity or commission to study the benefits, costs, and feasibility of a playoff system.
If the KP is feasible, the option for the DOJ to sue the BCS and NCAA for post-season broadcasting rights and post-season gate revenues is available. Mr. Hancock says financial inducements will not lead to changes but the ESCROW account he manages does not have the revenues to pay 30 years of damages and 90 years of monetary fees.
If the KP were implemented, Texas Christian University (TCU) could have hosted and beat Ohio State in a 2nd round game, loss a nail biter to Oregon in a NCAA Semi-final in Eugene but Purple Nation would still have the opportunity to say, “We’re Rose Bowl Champions”. TCU Quarterback Andy Dalton said playing in the Rose Bowl game was a “dream come true”. The ambience of New Year’s Day and the San Gabriel Mountains will continue to breathe and the opportunity to win the College Super Bowl would be born with the implementation of the KP.
Senator Brown, after the conclusion of last night’s game, the promotion, marketing, advertising, and competitive process for the 2012 BCS National Championship Game began. Mr. Hancock and the NCAA continue to deny and block the KP. We feel Congress could throw a stone and address this issue by inviting Mr. Hancock, the Conference Commissioners, Chairman Spanier, President Emmert, and Chairman Ray to testify about the Kennedy Proposal.
Sincerely,
Brandon E. Kennedy Executive Director of the KP Coalition Jesse T. Wenzl
2nd Member of KP Coalition