Citizenz On Patrol: Obama Pushes for Playoff System

In Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign he jokingly said on multiple occasions he would 'throw my weight around a little bit' to push for a playoff system in NCAA football. Now he is living up to his word.

Yesterday the Department of Justice antitrust chief Christine Varney wrote a letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert asking why a playoff system isn’t used in football, unlike in other sports; what steps the NCAA has taken to create one; and whether Emmert thinks there are aspects of the BCS system that don’t serve the interest of fans, schools and players.

“Your views would be relevant in helping us to determine the best course of action with regard to the BCS,” she wrote.

This leads us to believe that some sort of action is going to be taken against the BCS.

“Serious questions continue to arise suggesting the current Bowl Championship Series system may not be conducted consistent with the competition principles expressed in the federal antitrust laws,” Varney said.

The DoJ believe that allowing only 6 conferences automatic births into the BCS system (and allotting them more money) is a bit unfair, and keeping the smaller schools who lack the funds to become a powerhouse football program from ever becoming one.

What's wrong with that the BCS says?

Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, was confident the current system complies with the law.

“Goodness gracious, with all that’s going on in the world right now and with national and state budgets being what they are, it seems like a waste of taxpayers’ money to have the government looking into how college football games are played,” he said.

Not how they are played Mr. Hancock, rather, how they are paid. And another thing, there are always going to be more pressing issues in the world than college football, but when September rolls around, that's exactly what Americans cares about, football, so let's take a look at it.

The NCAA said Wednesday it would respond to the government’s questions when it receives the letter.

Spokesman Bob Williams said Emmert consistently has said the NCAA is willing to move to a playoff format if schools with the nation’s major football programs want to go that route.

That's all great and peachy, but why on earth would the nation's major football programs want to change from a system that shoves money in their g-strings at the end of every year to one that would challenge their teams fairly AND possibly give more money to smaller schools who never got the chance to drink from the crystal cup in the past? Why, that just seems too....fair.

I have always believed that I would see a playoff system in college football during my lifetime and that it would be during the better half of my life (that's the younger half). With so many people so heavily against the BCS, including the major sports network that airs the bowl games every season

(*cough*ESPN*cough* hypocrites*cough*) the BCS is standing on its last leg. And who better to "Finish Him!" than the president himself.