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 Cham-
pionship 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 spe-
cial committee that had studied the feasibility of a play-
off; 
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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 Con-
ferences; 
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 sys-
tem that governed postseason play in college football; 
Whereas on September 4, 2003, the House Judiciary Com-
mittee held the oversight hearing, ‘‘Competition in Col-
lege Athletic Conferences and Antitrust Aspects of the 
Bowl Championship Series’’; 
Whereas on October 29, 2003, the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee held an oversight hearing, ‘‘BCS or Bust: Com-
petitive 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 Com-
merce Committee held an oversight hearing, ‘‘Deter-
mining a Champion on the Field: A Comprehensive Re-
view of the BCS and Postseason College Football’’; 
Whereas on February 1, 2008, the Georgia House of Rep-
resentatives 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 Con-
ferences, are ensured a berth in a BCS bowl game each 
year; 
Whereas no more than 1 team from the nonautomatic quali-
fied conferences, Conference USA, the Mid-American, 
Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Con-
ferences, 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 advan-
tage to the automatic BCS qualified conferences in re-
cruiting, retention, facility maintenance, and other ath-
letic programs, as well as alumni relations; 
Whereas the BCS system makes it highly unlikely that a non-
automatic BCS qualifying conference team will ever com-
pete 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 viola-
tion 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 fea-
sible less restrictive alternative that alleviates some of the 
anticompetitive effects; 
Whereas the declaration of the winner of the BCS Champion-
ship 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 
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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) rejects the BCS system as an illegal re-
straint of trade that violates the Sherman Anti- 
Trust Act; 
(2) demands the United States Department of 
Justice Antitrust Division investigate and bring ap-
propriate action to have the BCS system declared il-
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•HRES 68 IH 
legal and require a playoff to determine a national 
champion; and 
(3) supports the establishment of an NCAA Di-
vision I Football Bowl Subdivision Championship 
playoff system in the interest of fairness and to 
bring parity to all NCAA teams. 
Æ 
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