Federal law requires certain organizations to disclose publicly how much they pay their congressional lobbyists. A glance at these federal lobbying reports offers key insight on the current state of college football reform in Congress.[1]
The Bowl Championship Series retained Watts Partners as its lobbyists. Watts Partners is the lobbying firm of J.C. Watts, a former four-term congressman and star Oklahoma Sooner quarterback. The BCS paid Watts Partners a handsome $710,000 sum over the past few years, hoping to access Members of Congress via Mr. Watts’ substantial connections. In addition, so far this year, the BCS-allied Football Bowl Association paid $10,000 to high-powered Washington sports lobbyist Phillip Kochberg.[2]
The BCS and FBA are not the only groups to lobby Congress on college football reform. The Mountain West Conference—the only group to fund a pro-reform lobbying effort—recently signed a contract with the firm Arent Fox to represent its interests on Capitol Hill. The Mountain West deserves credit for increasing its Washington presence and advancing the cause of reform. Unfortunately, the $200,000 spent by the Mountain West on lobbying is far outweighed by the pro-BCS groups’ $720,000 outlay.
Call us cynics, but this disparity in lobbying resources perhaps shows why college football reform has yet to gain significant traction in Congress, despite its wide-spread popularity. It also shows the need for Playoff PAC and other groups to counter BCS efforts by supporting candidates who actively favor reform.
[1] Lobbying Disclosure reports may be viewed at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/Public_Disclosure/LDA_reports.htm.
[2] Lester Munson, House Hearing Takes Aim at BCS, ESPN.com College Football (Apr. 30, 2009 at 14:02 ET), available at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4115867.