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BCSReform.org
The November 21, 2008 edition of USA TODAY reported on page 11C that, “Congressmen from Hawaii, Utah and Idaho have written an open letter to President – elect Barack Obama applauding his support for a major – college playoff this week on 60 Minutes and asking him for help in forcing the NCAA to make such a move. The congressmen call the Bowl Championship Series “an illegal restraint of trade, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.” They say the “anti – competitive effect is the vast difference in revenue generated in the postseason between the BCS and non – BCS schools.” They call for a “fair, inclusive playoff system.” … The authors are Neil Abercrombie, D – Hawaii; Mike Simpson, R – Idaho; and Jim Matheson, D – Utah.”
In April 2008, Congressman Lynn A. Westmoreland, R – Georgia, and Congressmen Abercrombie and Simpson planned to introduce a resolution rejecting the BCS as an illegal restriction on trade because only the largest universities compete in most of the major bowl games. The resolution would require The Justice Department's antitrust division to investigate whether the system violates federal law.
Many legal experts believe that the BCS violates federal Sherman Antitrust Act regulations. Antitrust laws prohibit agreements that unreasonably restrain trade. As a general rule, when competitors conspire to the detriment of either other competitors or consumers, while not a true monopoly (more like a cartel), the behavior restrains trade, is monopolistic, and violates antitrust laws. There are many different types of practices that run afoul of antitrust laws, many of which may apply to the BCS (e.g., illegal antitrust practices such as BCS Conference Cartel vis a vis the BCS Bowls, Illegal Tying Arrangement, Group Boycott / Teams, Group Boycott / BCS Bowls, Refusal to Deal, etc.).
An additional, critical legal point is that if an antitrust litigation is successful against the BCS, the tax – exempt / deductible status of such may be pierced and the BCS' revenues may become taxable. Concurrently, all the currently tax – deductible donations made by alumni / boosters to BCS universities may also lose their tax – exempt / deductible status and become taxable to the alumni donors / contributors.
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