Utah attorney general: BCS may violate antitrust laws

[Dos Equis]

About time someone looked into this stuff. 

Utah attorney general: BCS may violate antitrust laws
Bob Rosato/SI
 
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's attorney general is investigating the Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws after an undefeated Utes team was left out of the national title game for the second time in five years.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff contends the BCS unfairly puts schools like Utah, which is a member of a conference without an automatic bid to the lucrative bowl games, at a competitive and financial disadvantage.

Shurtleff said Tuesday that his office is still in the initial stages of reviewing the Sherman Antitrust Act to see if a lawsuit can be filed. To succeed in a lawsuit, Shurtleff would have to prove a conspiracy exists that creates a monopoly.

A message left with BCS administrator Bill Hancock was not immediately returned.

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/01/06/utah.lawsuit.ap/index.html

[Joel_A]

they need to keep at it. The BCS needed to go a long time ago.

[Option D]

Way to go Utes..You just fucked yourself out of any future bowl considerations

[Fury]

They badly need a playoff. I'm pretty sick and tired of watching the Big 10's resident douche bag team limp into the BCS every year only to lose while teams like Boise State, TCU (who are both better than OSU) get screwed.

[Cap]

Yeah, the bowl games...aside from the Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl have been jokes.  Hopefully the National Championship is not a blow out.

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Yeah, the bowl games...aside from the Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl have been jokes.  Hopefully the National Championship is not a blow out.

Fiesta bowl was a joke to. It goes to show that Texas was not as good as they were proclaimed to be.. After beating OSU they had the nerve to say that they were the best team in the nation...



































Hey Texas OSU sucks DICK!

[Dos Equis]

 

BCS coordinator: System in compliance
Updated: January 8, 2009, 12:36 PM ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The BCS coordinator said Thursday major college football's leaders feel the postseason system is in compliance with federal antitrust laws.

Speaking to reporters, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford did not specifically address the Utah attorney general's threat of an antitrust lawsuit against the Bowl Championship Series.

But he says the BCS has carefully considered the legality of its format.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff earlier this week said he's investigating the BCS for a possible antitrust violation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls08/news/story?id=3818921

[Geo]

Way to go Utes..You just fucked yourself out of any future bowl considerations

 


you're probably right !

[Tre]

BCS coordinator: System in compliance
Updated: January 8, 2009, 12:36 PM ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The BCS coordinator said Thursday major college football's leaders feel the postseason system is in compliance with federal antitrust laws.

Speaking to reporters, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford did not specifically address the Utah attorney general's threat of an antitrust lawsuit against the Bowl Championship Series.

But he says the BCS has carefully considered the legality of its format.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff earlier this week said he's investigating the BCS for a possible antitrust violation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls08/news/story?id=3818921

The ACC has completely lost its soul, which happened when they brought in BC, VaTech, and Thug U. 

So, of course Swofford wants to protect the ACC's 'automatic slot', which they're only getting because of being THE dominant conference in basketball. 

The ACC has a crappy brand of football...because it's NOT A FOOTBALL CONFERENCE.  And the basketball has suffered as a result, too. 

I understand that, in life, things change.  But that's flat-out fucking bullshit on more levels than you guys can even know.   

[Tre]

Fiesta bowl was a joke to. It goes to show that Texas was not as good as they were proclaimed to be.. After beating OSU they had the nerve to say that they were the best team in the nation...

Hey Texas OSU sucks DICK!

I was not at all happy with the way the guys went out and laid that egg the other night. 

Sure, it was a dramatic finish  , but they *should've* blown Ohio State off the field and I dare say, if Wells had not gotten injured, it might've been an entirely different story.  I'm the first to admit 'we got lucky'. 

Even if there was a mythical plus-1 game, Texas would not have earned the right to play in it based on their performance the other night. 

I think the world would want to see Florida-Utah, but the BCS would make it Florida-USC. 

[body88]

The ACC has completely lost its soul, which happened when they brought in BC, VaTech, and Thug U. 

So, of course Swofford wants to protect the ACC's 'automatic slot', which they're only getting because of being THE dominant conference in basketball. 

The ACC has a crappy brand of football...because it's NOT A FOOTBALL CONFERENCE.  And the basketball has suffered as a result, too. 

I understand that, in life, things change.  But that's flat-out fucking bullshit on more levels than you guys can even know.   

BC was a top 10 program in the country last year.  They had a ranked defense this year.  Consdinering their academic standards, the fact that they can be competitive as they are is a miracle.  Miami was a powerhouse, and pumps out all pros like its nothing.  The coaching is the problem at Miami, and BC lost their QB.  BC always puts a good product on the field.

[Internet Tough Guy]

About time someone looked into this stuff. 

Utah attorney general: BCS may violate antitrust laws
Bob Rosato/SI
 
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's attorney general is investigating the Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws after an undefeated Utes team was left out of the national title game for the second time in five years.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff contends the BCS unfairly puts schools like Utah, which is a member of a conference without an automatic bid to the lucrative bowl games, at a competitive and financial disadvantage.

Shurtleff said Tuesday that his office is still in the initial stages of reviewing the Sherman Antitrust Act to see if a lawsuit can be filed. To succeed in a lawsuit, Shurtleff would have to prove a conspiracy exists that creates a monopoly.

A message left with BCS administrator Bill Hancock was not immediately returned.

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/01/06/utah.lawsuit.ap/index.html

Even though I'm not a fan of the BCS, this whole "investigation" is just a grandstanding politician trolling for future votes ("Remember, I'm the man who stood up against the BCS for you people!!")

Even if a playoff would be "more fair," it just isn't going to happen.  The bowls have been around too long, and have paid too much, to let themselves be relegated to a subordinate status (like some people trying to propose that "the bowls could be part of the playoffs").  Some say the bowls are not a good way to determine a National Champion.  That's true, but the bowls were conceived to make money, nothing else.  All these schools and conferences, for decades, gladly took the money.  Sure, some got more than others, but that's life. 

[body88]

There needs to be a playoff, plain and simple.  You can still have your money making bowl games for the teams on the outside looking in.

[Internet Tough Guy]

There needs to be a playoff, plain and simple.  You can still have your money making bowl games for the teams on the outside looking in.

I know what you're saying, but the big bowls (Orange, Rose, etc.) are not going to relinquish their conference-champion tie-ins in favor of 2nd or 3rd place teams for the sake of a playoff to happen.

A playoff may be "needed" but it won't happen. 

[Dos Equis]

I'm a cynic too.  The only way it will happen is if the courts get involved.  I'm talking about a true playoff system that includes, at a mininum, all conference winners. 

[Option D]

I'm a cynic too.  The only way it will happen is if the courts get involved.  I'm talking about a true playoff system that includes, at a mininum, all conference winners. 

BADA BING..Oh yeah . thats all im saying Every Conference champ. From Pac 10 to the colonial leauge...every conference champ and then, only the strong Survive

[Dos Equis]

BADA BING..Oh yeah . thats all im saying Every Conference champ. From Pac 10 to the colonial leauge...every conference champ and then, only the strong Survive

Thank you.  I debated this for two days with someone who all but called me a fool for even suggesting it.   

[Option D]

Thank you.  I debated this for two days with someone who all but called me a fool for even suggesting it.   

how...they do it in basketball. Its Dumb NOT to do it. Shit if the Pac 10, Big 10, Acc, Sec, Big 12, big east only get to go...The Mountian West will say "well shit we just donkey stomped the 2nd best team in the sec.. so we deserve to be there" Some teams from the WAC could compete against anyone in the Big 10. What about South Florida...They would give some major conference teams some problems. Instead of having your National Champ Placed...let them earn it

[Dos Equis]

how...they do it in basketball. Its Dumb NOT to do it. Shit if the Pac 10, Big 10, Acc, Sec, Big 12, big east only get to go...The Mountian West will say "well shit we just donkey stomped the 2nd best team in the sec.. so we deserve to be there" Some teams from the WAC could compete against anyone in the Big 10. What about South Florida...They would give some major conference teams some problems. Instead of having your National Champ Placed...let them earn it

You're preaching to the choir.  I completely agree. 

[Hereford]

how...they do it in basketball. Its Dumb NOT to do it. Shit if the Pac 10, Big 10, Acc, Sec, Big 12, big east only get to go...The Mountian West will say "well shit we just donkey stomped the 2nd best team in the sec.. so we deserve to be there" Some teams from the WAC could compete against anyone in the Big 10. What about South Florida...They would give some major conference teams some problems. Instead of having your National Champ Placed...let them earn it

Go Mountain West!

"Donkey Stomped" .... Good stuff Mal....

[Dos Equis]

Congressmen set to amp up BCS reform effort
by FOXSports.com

Before the close of Friday's session, three U.S. Congressmen will cross-sponsor each other's attempts to bring change to college football's controversial postseason selection system.

Congressmen Gary Miller (R-California), Joe Barton (R-Texas), and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) will call for a set of combined hearings in an effort to enact a playoff in college football.

"Every one of the 120 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools should have the ability to compete on the gridiron and earn a position in the national championship game," BCSReform.org — a Web site devoted to ending the current BCS system — said in a statement, "regardless of how large or small the school is or from which conference the eventual teams are from. If a playoff format determines that two teams from the same conference should compete for the national title, they should have the ability to do so. BCSReform.org supports all legislative efforts that are aimed towards finally bringing about college football playoffs."

Congressman Miller's bill (H.R. 599) calls for and end to federal funding to FBS schools that do not participate in a playoff system and says it is the responsibility of the schools to develop and implement the playoffs.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9214016/Congressmen-set-to-amp-up-BCS-reform-effort

[Internet Tough Guy]

Congressmen set to amp up BCS reform effort
by FOXSports.com

Before the close of Friday's session, three U.S. Congressmen will cross-sponsor each other's attempts to bring change to college football's controversial postseason selection system.

Congressmen Gary Miller (R-California), Joe Barton (R-Texas), and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) will call for a set of combined hearings in an effort to enact a playoff in college football.

"Every one of the 120 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools should have the ability to compete on the gridiron and earn a position in the national championship game," BCSReform.org — a Web site devoted to ending the current BCS system — said in a statement, "regardless of how large or small the school is or from which conference the eventual teams are from. If a playoff format determines that two teams from the same conference should compete for the national title, they should have the ability to do so. BCSReform.org supports all legislative efforts that are aimed towards finally bringing about college football playoffs."

Congressman Miller's bill (H.R. 599) calls for and end to federal funding to FBS schools that do not participate in a playoff system and says it is the responsibility of the schools to develop and implement the playoffs.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9214016/Congressmen-set-to-amp-up-BCS-reform-effort

I understand that people want a Div IA playoff, but it isn't going to happen.  More grandstanding politicians just trying to get their names in the paper.  Pathetic.

[JBGRAY]

Fuck fairness.  I like the BCS.  It keeps the regular season interesting week in and week out.  If you implemented a playoff system, you'd simply have a case of "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." 

It's all about the schools getting money, even from the more obscure Bowl games.  Schools like SMU, Tulane, and the such reap big benefits when playing in things like the Car Care Bowl.

[Dos Equis]

I understand that people want a Div IA playoff, but it isn't going to happen.  More grandstanding politicians just trying to get their names in the paper.  Pathetic.

Not necessarily grandstanding.  They're putting heat on that farce of a system.  It may force them to do the right thing without any intervention.

[Option D]

Fuck fairness.  I like the BCS.  It keeps the regular season interesting week in and week out.  If you implemented a playoff system, you'd simply have a case of "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." 

It's all about the schools getting money, even from the more obscure Bowl games.  Schools like SMU, Tulane, and the such reap big benefits when playing in things like the Car Care Bowl.

Thats where i stop reading