Feds Want To Know Why There’s No College Football Playoff
The Justice Department wants to know why the college football bowl subdivision doens’t have a playoff system. The Associated Press, courtesy of espn.com, has the story, below.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski (L) and Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney (R) chat with each other prior to a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee March 11, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The hearing was to examine the proposed Comcast-NBC merger.
The Justice Department wants to know why the NCAA doesn’t have a college football playoff system and says there are “serious questions” about whether the current format to determine a national champion complies with antitrust laws.
Critics who have urged the department to investigate the Bowl Championship Series contend it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the title championship game and top-tier end-of-season bowls.
In a letter this week, the department’s antitrust chief, Christine Varney, asked NCAA president Mark Emmert why a playoff system isn’t used in football, unlike in other sports; what steps the NCAA has taken to create one; and whether Emmert thinks there are aspects of the BCS system that don’t serve the interest of fans, schools and players.