Tulane president: BCS opponents unlikely to settle antitrust claim in court

The pressure to reform college football's Bowl Championship Series was turned up another notch in New Orleans last week with Congress watching from the sidelines.

Tulane University President Scott Cowen and four other presidents from non-BCS schools met Sunday with six chancellors and

Despite the strong desire to modify the BCS system, Cowen and other non-BCS schools are confident the issue won't become a court battle.

There are very substantive issues about whether (the BCS) in fact violates any antitrust laws. That has not been tested yet in court and quite frankly we do not want to see the issue wind up in court or in Congress, Cowen said. We are on a path, and I think a very productive path, to resolve these collegially amongst ourselves as university presidents.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the BCS is unfair and perpetuates a cycle that's turning college football into a minor league for the pros. Members of Congress indicated they will step in to help if university presidents cannot reach an agreement.

Also last week, the National Symposium on Athletics Reform, sponsored by Tulane, brought together former athletic directors, current conference commissioners and other college sports experts to offer suggestions for modifying the BCS.

Peter Dalis, UCLA's former athletic director, proposed an eight- team playoff system that could grow in the same way the NCAA Division I-A basketball tournament grew from 16 teams originally to 65 teams today.

Incorporating the traditional bowl games into the playoff system is another idea. Dalis said he's confirmed in talks with television networks that a playoff system would be even more profitable than the BCS. That money, he said, could be used to subsidize second- tier bowl games.

Kermit Hall, president of Utah State University and a representative of the Sun Belt Conference, also supports a playoff.

There is no functional reason why there cannot be a postseason playoff that would culminate in the designation of a national champion in Division I based on what happens on the playing field as opposed to what happens in cyberspace. That being said, whether or not we get to that point is in question, he said. But Division II and Division III probably have something to teach us in this regard.

Dalis admits a playoff is not likely anytime soon though.

I just think there's so much resistance in higher education, he said.

Dalis said adding a fifth major bowl game is the most realistic next step.

Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, wants a selection committee added to the current rankings process.

Let's bring some knowledgeable people into the process that have a broad representation - not just those six conferences - but the 11 conferences that play I-A football, he said. All the other championships at the intercollegiate level have some sort of selection team, some sort of a management process beyond just the flat-out computers and two human polls.

Many BCS members asked why they should share BCS bowl revenues with schools that don't generate big dollars.

Non-BCS school officials say revenue is a function of the real commodity: access. Those who have it, keep it. They rake in the bucks, invest more dollars in facilities, coaching salaries and recruiting and grow stronger. Those who don't have access remain on the outside looking in.

In the first five years of the BCS, bowl game payouts for BCS schools totaled $500 million. Non-BCS schools received about $23 million. Revenue for this season's four major bowl games - the Suger Bowl in New Orleans where the national title will be settled, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., and the Orange Bowl in Miami - will reach an estimated $89.92 million.