Sponsor: Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
Co-Sponsors: Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Gary G. Miller (R-CA), Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-GA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), and Michael K. Simpson (R-ID).
Text (PDF provided by the United States Government Printing Office)
Summary and Status (provided by The Library of Congress): H. Res. 68 was introduced on January 15, 2009 and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Education and Labor. On March 6, 2009, H. Res. 68 was referred to the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
House Resolution 68 calls for: (1) the rejection of the BCS “as an illegal restraint of trade that violates the Sherman Anti-Trust Act;” (2) the Department of Justice to “investigate and bring appropriate action to have the BCS system declared illegal and require a playoff;” and (3) the establishment of a playoff system for the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision “in the interest of fairness and to bring parity to all NCAA teams.”
House Resolution 68 also briefly highlights history surrounding the NCAA’s consideration a playoff system, the establishment of the BCS, and previous congressional oversight hearings into anti-trust aspects of the BCS. The Resolution lists the following as grievances with the BCS:
- That “no more than 1 team from the nonautomatic qualified conferences… earn[s] a BCS bowl game berth in any year;"
- The unlikelihood that a team from a nonautomatic qualified conference will ever compete in the BCS title game;
- The discrepancy in postseason revenue payouts to automatic BCS-qualified conferences and nonautomatic qualified conferences;
- The recruiting, retention, facility maintenance, and other advantages gained by such revenue discrepancies;
- The possibility that the BCS “constitutes an unreasonable restraint of trade, in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act;”
- The BCS’s failure to accomplish its state purpose and settle debate over which team is the nation’s best; and
- That “the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision…is currently the only major college sport without an NCAA championship.”
If passed, House Resolution 68—as a simple resolution—would not have the force of law. It would, however, clearly express the U.S. House of Representatives' belief that the BCS is unlawful and should be replaced with a championship playoff.