A senator whose undefeated home state school was bypassed for the national championship last season urged President Obama yesterday to ask the Justice Department to investigate the Bowl Championship Series, citing Obama’s own concerns about the way the top team is crowned in building a case for action.
“Mr. President, as you have publicly stated on multiple occasions, the BCS system is in dire need of reform,’’ Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said in a 10-page letter to Obama calling for an antitrust probe of the BCS. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.
Shortly after his election, Obama said he was going to ‘‘to throw my weight around a little bit’’ to nudge college football toward a playoff system.
Hatch, who held a hearing on the BCS in July, told Obama that a ‘‘strong case’’ can be made that the BCS violates antitrust laws.
Under the BCS system, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in top-tier bowl games while others don’t, and the automatic bid conferences also get far more of the revenue. Hatch’s home state school, the University of Utah, is from the Mountain West Conference, which does not get an automatic bid. The school qualified for a bid last season but was bypassed for the national championship despite going undefeated.
The system ‘‘has been designed to limit the number of teams from non-privileged conferences that will play in BCS games,’’ Hatch wrote.
He added that the system ‘‘artificially limits the number of nationally relevant bowl games to five. The result is reduced access to revenues and visibility, which creates disadvantages to schools in the non-privileged conferences.’’
Bradford gathering information
Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford called off a news conference, at which he planned to discuss his future after injuring his throwing shoulder.Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said that Bradford needed time to gather more information before making a decision.
‘‘He just wasn’t ready to fully answer everything that’ll want to be asked and for sure what he wants to do just yet, until he has a few more people to visit with,’’ Stoops said.
Bradford was coming off of one of the most prolific seasons in NCAA history when he opted to come back for his junior year instead of entering the NFL. He was considered a top prospect after throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 TDs last season.
Bradford was hurt in the season opener against Brigham Young and returned to play one full game before being reinjured against Texas last Saturday.
Officials suspended
The Southeastern Conference has suspended officials from last Saturday’s Arkansas-Florida game after the crew was involved in its second controversial call of the year. Referee Marc Curles’s crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call. The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn’t have been called. The crew will not be assigned to officiate until Nov. 14 ... Alabama coach Nick Saban says his kickers won’t use tape to spot field goals and extra points. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier pointed out Tuesday that Alabama’s Leigh Tiffin used white tape to spot kicks in last week’s game. Spurrier reported it to the SEC and was told by the conference that what Tiffin did was against the rules ... Donald Buckram ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 29 seconds left, to help UTEP (3-4, 2-1 Conference USA) beat Tulsa, 28-24, last night in El Paso. G.J. Kinne, Charles Clay, and A.J. Whitmore scored TDs for the Golden Hurricane (4-3, 2-1) ... Buddy Farnham of Brown and Matt Zahoruiko of Bentley are this week’s Gold Helmet Award winners. Farnham piled up 309 all-purpose yards in the Bears’ 34-17 win over Princeton. Zahoruiko, a linebacker, had a game-high 15 tackles, an interception, and forced and recovered a fumble in the Falcons’ 28-27 victory over Pace.
