USA Today’s Jack Carey wrote an interesting piece on Thursday about how the Department of Justice has sent a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert asking why the association does not have a major-college football playoff.

Christine A. Varney, assistant attorney general in the Justice Departmen’s Antitrust Division, pointed out in the letter sent Tuesday that “serious questions” continue to arise as to whether the BCS system is consistent with federal antitrust laws.

Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff recently said he plans an antitrust lawsuit against the BCS, and Varney wrote that 21 professors have requested the Justice Department conduct an investigation of the system.

“Your views would be relevant in helping us to deternine the best course of action with regard to the BCS,” Varney wrote.

NCAA spokesman Bob Williams, in a statement Wednesday, said that the association will respond when it receives the letter.

“It should be noted that President Emmert consistently has said … that the NCAA is willing to help create a playoff format for Football Bowl Subdivision football if the FBS membership makes that decision,” he said.

To date, the FBS schools have opted to stick with the bowl system.

When I was reading the article, I was waiting for someone to mention how the Department of Justice should have bigger things to worry about than whether or not the NCAA has a playoff system. And then it came…

Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, has long expressed confidence that the BCS complies with the law. “With all that’s going on in the world right now and with national and state budgets being what they are, it seems like a waste of taxpayers’ money to have the government looking into how college football games are played,” he said.

Matthew Sanderson, a founder of PlayoffPAC.com fired back with a good response:

“I’m surprised the BCS still trots out that tired argument. This issue may not be of international importance, but this is a billion-dollar enterprise involving tax-exempt entities and institutions of higher learning.”

Whether the Justice Department has bigger fish to fry is irrelevant now: The issue is on the their radar whether the NCAA disagrees or not. And if the NCAA is violating anti-trust laws, then maybe we’ll finally see a college football playoff some day.

Or nothing will come of this and the crooked BCS will continue to rip everyone off.