Columnist Dean Juipe: Senate gets involved with BCS

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Members of the U.S. Congress must have more time on their hands than their constituents generally believe even in this period of war and economic crisis.

How else to explain the U.S. Senate, less than two months after the U.S. House, summoning a handful of college representatives to Washington to explain the ins and outs and ups and downs of college football's Bowl Championship Series?

This week it's the Senate Judiciary Committee's turn to examine the BCS, ostensibly to ensure that it is properly run, not unfairly stilted by its makeup and not remiss in slighting lesser teams and conferences from its hierarchy, plans and money.

Iraq? The declining value of your paycheck? The unaffordable costs of health care?

Ah, heck, those things can wait. Congress has a new No. 1 priority: Make sure the BCS at least considers Texas Christian for the Sugar Bowl and that it divvies up its millions appropriately.

It's your tax dollars at work.

At least the time spent on the BCS at the congressional level may be limited this year purely by the per-chance results on the playing field. With only two major teams, Oklahoma and Miami, still undefeated, there isn't much argument to date concerning which teams deserve to play in the Sugar Bowl, which, this season, will determine the national champion.

If Oklahoma and Miami win out, they'll go to the Sugar Bowl with a minimum of detractors even if TCU -- the only other I-A unbeaten -- does the same.

But both the Sooners and Hurricanes have obstacles to overcome, as top-rated Oklahoma gets No. 14 Oklahoma State this week while No. 2 Miami faces No. 10 Virginia Tech. If there's an upset in either game, the nation's 10 one-loss teams -- as well as TCU to a lesser extent -- will be back in the title picture and the Senate Judiciary Committee may have to reconvene.

When it meets Wednesday it will quiz a handful of guest speakers, including former BYU coach LaVell Edwards, on the inner workings of the BCS. Generally perceived as stuffy, insular and entirely too self-serving, the BCS is the Ivan the Terrible of the sports world, ruling as it sees fit and without regard for the consequences.

But, somewhat out of necessity, it has at least opened itself to the possibility of expanding its ranks beyond its six major conferences and distributing its incredible cash to the less affluent. Conference commissioners and school presidents alike from the non-BCS schools -- including UNLV -- have taken turns lobbying for inclusion and pleading for a piece of the wealth.

The BCS annually distributes $115 million (in bowl-related receipts) to its members, and that figure not only caught the eye of the lesser conferences but Congress as well. These conferences -- including the Mountain West -- are hopeful of getting a slice of the pie when the next BCS contract comes due after the 2005 season.

Is it Congress' duty to oversee the BCS and insist that it includes the UNLVs of the world in its largess?

I don't think so, but, then again, I would have said the same thing about governmental intervention in things like mandatory seat belts and motorcycle helmets, too. I would have thought this thing in Iraq would be enough to keep the politicians busy.