House Subcommittee Passes College Football Playoff Bill

A House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday that would force college football to decide its national champion through a playoff system.

The bill would force a championship game to solely be the result of a playoff system and ban promotion of such a contest in any other manner.

It does not mean, however, that a playoff immediately would come to fruition. Conferences affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series --those that, not coincidentally, benefit financially from the BCS -- cover a wide-range of regions throughout the country.

That will make it hard for a vote to pass in the playoff's favor. There is no similar legislation in the Senate, either.

The legislation went through after a voice vote in the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. There was one 'no' vote from Rep. John Barrow, D-Georgia, who was unhappy with the focus on college football with all that is on the plates of lawmakers.

"With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on," Barrow told the Associated Press, whose story also made clear that Barrow did not like the current BCS, either.

GOP Rep. Joe Barton of Texas sponsored the bill, a move he warned that Congress would make, saying in May that something probably would be done if college football officials did not take action toward a playoff system within two months.

The legislation comes three days after the announcement of the BCS Championship Game, which will pit No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Texas. Three other undefeated teams, however, will be left in the dark, with only the Tide or the Longhorns having a chance to claim the title.

Under the current BCS system, the top two teams in the system's rankings -- determined by two polls and six computer rankings -- play in the title game. Eight other teams fill out the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls.

TCU and Boise State, teams from non-BCS conferences, finished with unblemished records and will play each other in the Fiesta Bowl. Cincinnati of the Big East also is undefeated and will take on Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

The champions of the six power conferences -- the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC -- earn automatic bids, while the other bids are given to deserving at-large teams based on the BCS rankings and which teams make it to the title game.

Nonetheless, it makes it difficult for teams from smaller conferences to make an impact.

"The schools in those six conferences, which have such a huge financial benefit from the system, have enormous clout," Gary Roberts, dean of the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and a sports law expert, told the AP. "I don't see anything coming from this."

Unfortunately, for college football fans, those with that influence are holding everyone else hostage. By most accounts, a playoff system is widely favored, even by President Obama, who said after he was elected last year that a playoff would be the right thing to do.