Topic: Bizarre
Government NCAA playoff system Should the government tell the NCAA they must have a playoff system?by David S
(libertarian)
Friday, May 1, 2009
This bill has been around since January but just came to my attention. Should government dictate that the NCAA have a playoff system?
What do you think?
Text of bill:
College Football Playoff Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)
HR 390 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 390
To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, the promotion, marketing, and advertising of any post-season NCAA Division I football game as a national championship game unless such game is the culmination of a fair and equitable playoff system.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2009
Mr. BARTON of Texas (for himself, Mr. RUSH, and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, the promotion, marketing, and advertising of any post-season NCAA Division I football game as a national championship game unless such game is the culmination of a fair and equitable playoff system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `College Football Playoff Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) college football games, including post-season football games, depend upon competition between college and university teams traveling in interstate commerce;
(2) the competitions involve and affect interstate commerce and are therefore within Congress's constitutional authority to regulate;
(3) the total economic impact in the host cities from the 5 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games in January 2008 was estimated at more than $1.2 billion;
(4) collegiate athletic conferences whose teams participate in each BCS bowl game share $17.5 million in revenue;
(5) the BCS system recognizes the important economic impact to a city hosting the BCS championship game and therefore rotates it among cities; and
(6) the colleges and universities whose teams participate in the post-season football bowls experience significant financial windfall including increased applications for enrollment, recruiting advantages, increased alumni donations, and increased corporate sponsorship that provides a competitive advantage over universities whose teams are ineligible or statistically at a disadvantage from the BCS bowl competitions because of their conference affiliation.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACT.
(a) Promotion of Game- It shall be unlawful for any person to promote, market, or advertise a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football game as a championship or national championship game, unless the game is the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system for which all NCAA Division I FBS conferences and unaffiliated Division I FBS teams are eligible.
(b) Merchandising- It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, market, or advertise any merchandise related to a post-season NCAA Division I FBS football game that refers to the game as a championship or national championship game, unless the game is the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system for which all NCAA Division I FBS conferences and unaffiliated Division I FBS teams are eligible.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.
Read the rest at the Library of Congress http://thomas.loc.gov/Type in H.R. 390 and click "bill number"
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 0 thumbs so far
The views expressed in this
article are those of David S only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. David S is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Posted By: Paul Sturdivant
Date: 2009-05-01 18:35:50
Any superfluous governmental intervention into private business is to be avoided. The BCS is a business. Schools enter into a contract with that business under an already specified set of selection rules.
Hi David, the bill is actually hilarious in a perverse sort of way! the sponsors alma maters must have lost out in the ratings!
We should also consider that any taxpayer dollar that goes to support college sports is misguided. If we agree to public college education [and i am not taking a position] certainly college "sports" should be removed from the spectra of "education" and be supported with other than government funds.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
