Day: December 3, 2005

The knuckleheads in Congress certainly have better things to do (we are at war), but I have to admit I’m glad they’ve decided to have hearings on the BCS system for picking the college football national champion. Calling the system “deeply flawed,” Texas Republican Joe Barton announced hearings to be held next week by his subcommittee.

Barton said he does not have legislation in mind to force a change, but said he hopes congressional hearings will spur discussion and improvements. It won’t be the first time Congress has looked at the BCS. In 2003, the Senate probed whether the system was unfairly tilted against smaller schools.

Something has to give. The current system is an improvement over the old system, enabling #1 vs.# 2 matchups like Ohio State/Miami and Texas/USC (barring an upset today) that never would have happened under the old system. Yet it has also produced fiascos like the last two seasons. An undefeated SEC champ should never be left out of the process.

There are numerous scenarios that would work. Maybe Congress can actually do some good by forcing the parties to come up with a compromise.