Perlman faces rush in BCS hearing

WASHINGTON — Harvey Perlman could have used a good offensive line Tuesday between himself and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Hatch repeatedly pressed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor on the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series during a Senate subcommittee hearing.

At one point, Perlman conceded that the BCS “may be unfair.”

“You know that it's unfair,” Hatch shot back.

As chairman of the group of university presidents that oversees the BCS, Perlman testified at the hearing titled “The Bowl Championship Series: Is it fair and in compliance with antitrust law?”

Hatch, the only senator who spent more than a few minutes at the hearing, blasted the BCS as an unfair, illegal, arrogant monopoly designed by traditional powerhouses such as Nebraska at the expense of schools such as Utah that don't come from one of the six so-called power or “privileged” conferences.

Utah, of the Mountain West Conference, became a standard bearer for anti-BCS sentiment last season after the Utes were the only team to finish the regular season undefeated, but were denied a berth in the championship game. Utah went on to dominate highly ranked Alabama from the powerful Southeastern Conference in the Sugar Bowl.

When Hatch asked Perlman on what more Utah could possibly have done last season, Perlman quickly responded that they could have played a schedule like Nebraska's.

That elicited a response from another witness at the hearing — Michael Young, president of the University of Utah.

“I do appreciate the tremendous football team that Nebraska fields,” Young said. “And I wish that they would play us.”

It was an example of what at times on Tuesday made the proceedings feel more like a sports radio call-in show — complete with inter-conference trash talking — than a Senate hearing.

In the Sagarin rankings, one of six computer ratings systems used in the BCS formula, Nebraska's strength of schedule ranked 38th in the country in 2008. Utah's was 56th.

The Utes defeated three teams (Alabama, Texas Christian, Oregon State) in the top 13 of the Sagarin poll, but just one other team (Brigham Young) in the top 50.

Nebraska, which finished 9-4, faced six teams in the top 50, winning just two. All four losses came against opponents ranked in Sagarin's top 19.

Perlman said the two teams could play down the road, after the currently booked schedules run out. But he acknowledged that was essentially a punt — that he and NU Athletic Director Tom Osborne would likely already be retired by that point.

As for any economically viable championship system, Perlman testified that it must have the participation of the college football blue bloods. Oklahoma, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame and Nebraska were among his list of examples.

“If those teams and their conferences cannot be persuaded to participate, there will be no national championship,” Perlman said. “With all due respect, this is not true of the other conferences.”

Perlman also said that there is no perfect system to crowning college football's national champion. Each school has certain advantages and disadvantages, he said, in football and in other arenas of competition.

“That's the way the world is, I'm afraid,” Perlman said.

While calling for the Justice Department to investigate the BCS for what he sees as a violation of antitrust laws, Hatch complained about the arrogance of those running the BCS and cited a playoff system recently proposed by the Mountain West. The proposal was rejected.

Perlman, recently appointed chairman of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, said it wasn't arrogance that prompted its rejection. He said multi-year agreements, including television commitments, already are in place. He said that when those agreements are renegotiated in the future, a playoff system could get another look.

But even then a playoff system is unlikely, Perlman said, because there are too many obstacles. He cited the economics involved and the wear and tear of additional games on players' bodies and their grade-point averages.

The hearing included a couple of legal experts who presented the arguments as to whether the BCS represents a violation of antitrust laws.

Perlman said university presidents are “sensitive to what Congress thinks, and sensitive about what the president thinks,” citing President Barack Obama's backing of a playoff system. But Perlman questioned why anyone would pursue such a case in court. If a judge struck down the BCS, it would simply prompt the major conferences to revert back to the old system, he said.

“This isn't a threat,” he said. “It's just an observation.”

Contact the writer:

202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com