A Barack Obama Strategy to Change College Football

If any of you have seen the news in the last few months, or have not been living under a rock, you know that our President-elect is Barack Obama. Politics aside, his is a historic victory, and signals the start of a new day in American sports.

American sports? Yes, particularly college football. During the campaign, then-Senator Obama called for the use of a college football playoff. It resonated true with millions of American voters, the idea that instead of BCS computers, late season style points and stump speeches from coaches, we could see who the best teams were on the field.

Obama's call has been met a negative response from the big bosses of the BCS. Currently tied up in EXTREMELY lucrative TV deals, the bosses say the first real chance at reform won't come until 2014. Thanks but no thanks, Mr. President.

So what could a Pres. Obama actually do to influence the BCS?  Well, legally, he has a couple of options.  I think if these options were used in sequence, he could maybe "throw his weight around" and make some changes.

1. Title IX

With the adoption by the Federal government of the requirements of Title IX, which essentially guarantees that female athletes at colleges and universities who receive Federal funding will get equal athletic opportunities to their comparative mens sports.

On its face, it seems like Title IX has no relation to a college football playoff.  But bear with me. It has been argued that the BCS is gutting Title IX. Smarter folks than I have shown that the guaranteed money that the 6 BCS conferences get from simply being in the BCS makes it possible for them to support both male and female athletics equitably.

Yet non-BCS schools are kept away from the BCS money, and are unable to financially support their women's athletic programs.

Here is where Obama comes in. With a comprehensive and systematic leveraging of all those non-BCS schools, Pres. Obama could bring ENORMOUS pressure on the NCAA and the college football world at large, by essentially requiring a reanalysis of the financial distributions within college football.  

There are 60-70 BCS conference schools, and the rest of FBS would be under scrutiny for inadequately funding their schools, with full on Federal investigations exposing the incredible disparity in financial windfalls that each different "class" of schools is receiving.

I think the BCS bosses would be a lot less comfortable in their position with that many college presidents hammering at their door for some more of the money.

2. Anti-Trust Regulation

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act seeks to improve competition among US markets. College sports is no exception. Many have argued that the BCS violates the Act, and is an illegal monopoly; or at best, an uncompetitive system that needs significant correction to be legal. This gets really technical and complicated, but there is some fairly good opinion out there that the BCS is currently in violation of this law, and could be liable to a legal challenge.

President Obama should, after his Title IX investigations, bring an anti-trust action against the BCS.  Find a good venue (a court with a judge that is a fan of a playoff system) and argue for the dissolution of the BCS through his attorney general.  

At this point, the BCS would (likely) be facing public pressure from the Title IX investigations, legal pressure from the Attorney General, and political pressure from the President. In an effort to save themselves, the BCS turns to Congress. Big mistake.

Congress, knowing the President's inclination on this one, and understanding the enormous public support for a college playoff, forces the BCS hand. A resolution is adopted, and we have a Federally mandated playoff system, consistent with the rest of the NCAA sports, for college football.

This is a crazy idea. So crazy that it could work.

Will President Obama try to get a college football playoff? Personally, I hope he tackles some more serious issues first. But, if he were so inclined, I think there are a couple of ways that President Obama could influence the college football landscape, and finally knock the BCS bosses back into reality.