by Jeremiah Tittle

How many economists does it take to end a corrupt system’s reign over a publicly-funded institution like NCAA athletics?  The answer: 21(hopefully)

Our friends at Playoff PAC have once again pushed the envelope. This time, the target is the Department of Justice antitrust division. 21 prominent economists have sent a letter to the DOJ to investigate the BCS’s violation of antitrust laws. It’s about time that the government serve the people and push for Division I football follow suit with every other sport in the NCAA.

Read the Playoff PAC press release here.

Read the Wall Street Journal article here.

by Jeremiah Tittle

Fiesta Bowl CEO and President John Junker – one of the many villains who often float behind the scenes in the white collar crime spree we call the BCS system – was fired today.  Credit goes to Playoff PAC, who have spent months filing IRS complaints and working to show how the Fiesta Bowl — which is supposed to be a nonprofit — was lavishly spending, overcompensating its executives and illegally reimbursing politicians. An investigative report commissioned by the Fiesta Bowl’s Board of Directors was released today, showing these improprieties and  validating Playoff PAC’s efforts. Hat tip to them.

This scandal has BCS mess written all over it, and while we’d like to celebrate in times like these, it’s in our best interest as sports fans to take everything with a grain of salt. Do we really trust the other BCS Bowls to clean up their act because one got caught?

The answer is simple.  No.

As long as University presidents bank seven figure salaries and BCS conference schools rake in millions each year, there will be no change to the current system. That is unless and until we college football fans unite into one voice and strike fear into the powers that be. We need to hold their feet to the fire to correct these improprieties that continue to plague our inequitable, publicly-funded NCAA college football post-season debacle.

Read the press release here.

Join SportsFans.org today and let’s use our power wisely to fight for a playoff in NCAA Division I Football.

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFans.org.  He graduated from the University of Maryland.  He is a fan of the Terps, the football team in the Washington, D.C. area, the Wizards, Manchester United, and Napoli.

Follow him at www.twitter.com/WWWJT.

Email him at Jeremiah@SportsFans.org.

[Note: An earlier version of this reported that "it was Playoff PAC and SportsFans.org’s own efforts putting pressure on this entity" that led to the revelations of the Fiesta Bowl improprieties. In fact, Playoff PAC deserves all the credit.  SportsFans.org has merely reported on Playoff PAC's efforts to force today's revelations.]

by Mike Felten

The trend toward independent media deals for major universities continues. Notre Dame was the first. Texas has just signed a $300 million deal with ESPN. Nebraska left the Big XII in a quest for autonomy. An Oklahoma TV network is in the works.

This sports fan wonders once the media companies have enough for a league of their own if the BCS will turn into a beer softball league. The ESPN champions will be in a playoff versus Fox Sports, NBC versus ABC. Do you think the Boise State’s and TCU’s of the world will get a title chance then?

Read the story here.

Mike Felten is an SFC sportswriter fellow. He is a music industry veteran, a performer, and owner of the Landfill Records, the former Record Emporium, navigating the transitioning areas of intellectual property and musicians rights. Born and raised in Chicago, Mike is a long time Chicago Cubs fan and a Oklahoma Sooners booster.

by George Donnelly

I grew up in Glassboro, New Jersey, a small town about 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia.  Now, in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, we don’t have too many powerhouse college football teams.  We have Penn State, but they are a few hours away and I never visited Beaver Stadium when I was younger.  Rutgers was good one year, but never competed in a major bowl game.  And Temple?  Until recently, they were the worst team in Division I football.

So my college football experience growing up revolved around the Rowan University football team.  Rowan, located in my hometown of Glassboro, had a powerhouse football team. They won the New Jersey Athletic Conference almost every year, and always competed in the Division III playoffs, a 16 team tournament that puts the top Division III teams in a bracket in order to determine a champion.

Now fortunately for me, Rowan was so good that they reached the Division III National Championship Game, the Amos Alonzo Staff Bowl five times in the 1990’s.  Unfortunately, they were the Buffalo Bills of Division III football; they were destroyed in the title game each time.

Nevertheless, each December my grandfather and I would make the trek to Salem, Virginia in order to watch the Rowan Profs play for the National Championship.  Going into each game, we knew that if Rowan somehow pulled out a win, they would be the undisputed National Champions of Division III football.  As I said earlier, the Profs broke my heart each time they reached the Staff Bowl.  But at the end of the game, there was never any doubt about who was the National Champion.

So when I started following Division I college football (now the Football Bowl Subdivision), I never understood how two different teams could be named the National Champion.  One year Michigan split the national title with Nebraska.  Another year, LSU won the National Championship given by the Coaches Poll and USC won the AP National Championship.  But how could two teams be National Champions?

This issue is just as baffling to me today.  There were three undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision after the regular season this year:  Auburn, Oregon, and TCU.  All three deserved a shot at the national title.  However, since only two teams can play in the national title game, Auburn and Oregon got their shot while TCU got to play in the Rose Bowl (a great consolation prize, but unfair nonetheless).  The fact that there is not a playoff system in the Football Bowl Subdivision is unacceptable.   A college football playoff was a big part of my childhood.  It should be a large part of the Football Bowl Subdivision as well.

George Donnelly is the Local Chapter Chair of SFC Philadelphia and an SFC Sportswriter Fellow.  He is an 8th grade Math and Science teacher based in Philadelphia.  He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is a lifelong fan of the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and unfortunately the Eagles.

by Scott Weiss

Make no mistake about it, tonight’s matchup between Auburn and Oregon is not a National Championship Game.  Yes, it is the 35^th bowl game of the 2010-2011 college football season, but not a National Championship Game.  This is not about disrespecting Auburn University or the University of Oregon, or their loyal fans.  This is about not accepting the Bogus Championship Series, and its random way of picking a National Champion. 

As a matter of fact I have been inspired by the BCS to create my own College Football National Championship selection process.  It will be called, the Scott Weiss Random Championship Selection Process (SWRCSP).  For this year, I have named the Louisville Cardinals the National Champion.  How did I make this decision?  The answer is simple.  The Bowl Game that they won, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl, clearly has the coolest name of all the Bowl Games.

My criteria for next year’s champion will surely make as much sense as the process that I followed this year.  After all, remember my inspiration is the BCS.  Let’s see, maybe next year my criteria will be the team that won the bowl game with the most vowels in its title will be the National Champion.

Have you had enough of my over the top sarcasm?  I think the better question is, does my ridiculous parody really make any less sense than the way that the BCS selects their National Champion?  Here’s hoping that next year neither the BCS system or SWRCSP system decides the National Champion, but rather a legitimate and fair playoff system.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey and an SFC Sportwriter Fellow. He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000. He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.