IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 68 

Supports the establishment of an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision 

Championship playoff system in the interest of fairness and to bring 

parity to all NCAA teams. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Mr. ABERCROMBIE (for himself, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. 

WESTMORELAND) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 

Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Supports the establishment of an NCAA Division I Football 

Bowl Subdivision Championship playoff system in the 

interest of fairness and to bring parity to all NCAA 

teams. 

Whereas the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 

has examined establishing a Division I A National Championship Football playoff system; 

Whereas in 1976, a proposal to establish an NCAA Division 

I A football championship was introduced to the NCAA 

Division I membership on the recommendation of a special committee that had studied the feasibility of a playoff; 


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•HRES 68 IH 

Whereas in 1994, a blue-ribbon panel was formed to gather 

information regarding the viability of establishing an 

NCAA Division I A football championship; 

Whereas in 1998 the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was 

established through an agreement between the Fiesta, 

Orange, Rose, and Sugar Bowls and the University of 

Notre Dame along with the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 

Ten, Big 12, Pacific 10 and Southeastern Athletic Conferences; 

Whereas the Presidential Coalition for Athletics Reform was 

established in 2003 by the presidents of 46 nonautomatic 

qualifying schools in an aggressive effort to alter the system that governed postseason play in college football; 

Whereas on September 4, 2003, the House Judiciary Committee held the oversight hearing, ‘‘Competition in College Athletic Conferences and Antitrust Aspects of the 

Bowl Championship Series’’; 

Whereas on October 29, 2003, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing, ‘‘BCS or Bust: Competitive and Economic Effects of the Bowl Championship 

Series On and Off the Field’’; 

Whereas the BCS adopted regulations to include more teams 

following the mobilization of the Presidential Coalition 

for Athletics Reform and the congressional committee 

hearings; 

Whereas on December 7, 2005, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing, ‘‘Determining a Champion on the Field: A Comprehensive Review of the BCS and Postseason College Football’’; 

Whereas on February 1, 2008, the Georgia House of Representatives adopted, by a vote of 151 to 9, H. Res. 


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•HRES 68 IH 

1034, recognizing the BCS system as ‘‘dysfunctional’’ 

and urging the NCAA to implement a playoff system to 

determine a national champion in the sport of college 

foot; 

Whereas all the regular season champions of the automatic 

BCS qualified conferences, the Atlantic Coast, Big East, 

Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10, and Southeastern Conferences, are ensured a berth in a BCS bowl game each 

year; 

Whereas no more than 1 team from the nonautomatic qualified conferences, Conference USA, the Mid-American, 

Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences, shall earn a BCS bowl game berth in any year; 

Whereas the automatic BCS-qualified conferences received an 

average of $31,400,000 in postseason revenue for the 

2007 to 2008 postseason, and the nonautomatic qualified 

conferences received an average of $5,900,000; 

Whereas the postseason revenue earned provides an advantage to the automatic BCS qualified conferences in recruiting, retention, facility maintenance, and other athletic programs, as well as alumni relations; 

Whereas the BCS system makes it highly unlikely that a nonautomatic BCS qualifying conference team will ever compete for the BCS National Championship and rarely able 

to play in a BCS bowl game; 

Whereas legal scholars have debated whether or not the BCS 

constitutes an unreasonable restraint of trade, in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act under the 

Rule of Reason test, where the procompetitive benefits 

are weighed against the anticompetitive effects; 


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•HRES 68 IH 

Whereas the Rule of Reason test also requires there be a feasible less restrictive alternative that alleviates some of the 

anticompetitive effects; 

Whereas the declaration of the winner of the BCS Championship Game as National Champion has annually instigated 

heated debate about whether the victor is actually the 

best team in the NCAA; 

Whereas various solutions to fairly determine a champion 

have been proposed and should be investigated; 

Whereas including more teams and players in deciding the 

national champion leads to more competition and fairness 

for the student athletes and fans; 

Whereas the NCAA administers 88 team championships in 

23 sports for its member institutions, including 

postseason playoff systems for the Division I Football 

Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I AA), as 

well as Division II and III football; and 

Whereas the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision 

(formerly Division I A) is currently the only major college 

sport without an NCAA championship: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) rejects the BCS system as an illegal re3 straint of trade that violates the Sherman Anti4 Trust Act; 

5 (2) demands the United States Department of 

6 Justice Antitrust Division investigate and bring ap7 propriate action to have the BCS system declared ilVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:55 Jan 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR68.IH HR68

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•HRES 68 IH 

1 legal and require a playoff to determine a national 

2 champion; and 

3 (3) supports the establishment of an NCAA Di4 vision I Football Bowl Subdivision Championship 

5 playoff system in the interest of fairness and to 

6 bring parity to all NCAA teams. 

Æ 


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