Justice Dept. asks to meet with BCS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Justice Department’s antitrust division will meet with the BCS this summer, following up on concerns the department raised with the NCAA about college football’s postseason format.

Bowl Championship Series executive director Bill Hancock told the Associated Press on Thursday that a Justice Department attorney last week asked for a voluntary background briefing on how the BCS operates. Hancock said he agreed to provide one, but that no date has been set yet.

“We view it as an opportunity to make it clear that the BCS was crafted very carefully with antitrust laws in mind,” Hancock said.

The Justice Department initially raised its concerns with the NCAA, asking why there wasn’t a playoff for college football’s highest level and said there were “serious questions” about whether the current format to determine a national champion complies with antitrust laws.

But NCAA president Mark Emmert responded in a letter last month that the department’s questions were best directed to the BCS.

Critics who have urged the department to investigate the BCS contend it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the title game and lucrative, top-tier bowls at the end of the season.

Hancock said he wasn’t concerned with the Justice Department’s request for a meeting.

“We take seriously any connection in Washington, and we’re certainly taking this seriously,” he said. “But I view it as an opportunity, because we’re confident that the BCS is on strong legal ground.”

Under the BCS, the champions of six conferences have automatic bids to play in top-tier bowl games; the other five conferences don’t.