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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 599 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 599

 To prohibit the receipt of Federal funds by any institution of higher 
education with a football team that participates in the NCAA Division I 
  Football Bowl Subdivision, unless the national championship game of 
        such Subdivision is the culmination of a playoff system.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2009

 Mr. Gary G. Miller of California introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To prohibit the receipt of Federal funds by any institution of higher 
education with a football team that participates in the NCAA Division I 
  Football Bowl Subdivision, unless the national championship game of 
        such Subdivision is the culmination of a playoff system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Championship Fairness Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION.

    (a) Prohibition.--An institution of higher education shall not be 
eligible to receive any Federal funds for any fiscal year during which 
the institution has a football team that participates in the National 
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl 
Subdivision, unless the national championship game of such Subdivision 
is the culmination of a playoff system.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002).
            (2) Playoff system.--The term ``playoff system'' means a 
        system by which the national championship game of the NCAA 
        Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is the final game of a 
        single elimination post-season playoff system for which all 
        NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and 
        unaffiliated NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams 
        are eligible.

SEC. 3. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Other Sports Not Affected.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to affect the post-season playoff system of any sport, 
division, subdivision, or athletic program other than the NCAA Division 
I Football Bowl Subdivision.
    (b) Bowl Games Permitted.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to prevent--
            (1) a playoff system that incorporates the post-season NCAA 
        Division I Football Bowl Subdivision bowl games established 
        before the date of the enactment of this Act, including names, 
        sponsorships, and locations for such bowl games; or
            (2) bowl games carried out independent of the playoff 
        system required by this Act, including bowl games established 
        before, on, and after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The prohibition in section 2(a) shall apply to any institution of 
higher education with a football team participating in an NCAA Division 
I Football Bowl Subdivision game on or after the date that is 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>
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