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Obama's BCS options

There are many, but few have a strong legal backing

By Tim Lemke (Contact) | Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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If President-elect Barack Obama were to free college football fans from the chains of the oft-criticized Bowl Championship Series, how would he go about doing it?

Obama said in an interview with "60 Minutes" on Sunday he will use his influence as president to push for an eight-team playoff to determine a national champion in college football - the second time in less than a month he has publicly addressed the issue.

In doing so, Obama echoed the concerns of many fans who see the current BCS system as confusing and occasionally unfair and who as much as possible want to see a national title determined on the field rather than by computer rankings.

"If you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear, decisive winner," Obama said. "We should be creating a playoff system."

It's unclear how serious Obama is about the issue, and he has offered no specific plan of action nor promised he would push for action. But he has addressed the issue on multiple occasions.

"I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit," he said in the "60 Minutes" interview.

If, however, Obama did press the issue, he would have a number of options available to him, legal experts said - though they cautioned that few of them had strong legal backing.

For instance, they said Obama could potentially attempt to impose an executive order on the NCAA to create a playoff. But such a measure likely would be shot down because the NCAA has repeatedly defended its status as a private institution.

Obama also could ask the Justice Department to explore whether the BCS is a violation of antitrust law on grounds that the system often excludes teams from non-major conferences.

"I haven't seen a compelling argument," said Michael McCann, a professor at Boston University School of Law and a contributor to Sports Illustrated. "I've seen different arguments offered that all seem somewhat flawed."