WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, joined with Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., on Thursday to announce a new Congressional Collegiate Sports Caucus that wants to debunk the BCS.
Barton, an outspoken foe of the Bowl Championship Series, hates the way it determines which college football teams are bowl-bound."There's a lack of a playoff system for big-time college football," Barton said at a news conference. The Texan wants a competitive system to determine the national champion.Barton will introduce a bill today called "the College Football Playoff Act" that prohibits "the promotion, marketing and advertising" of any national championship game unless it is the result of a playoff system. Barton first introduced the bill in 2009. And Texas Christian University being shut out in the past definitely had something to do with it, he said.Asked why Congress should get involved in college football, Barton responded that with millions of dollars at stake, "it's interstate commerce." The former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he wants the BCS to voluntarily act, but "I think it's appropriate to have congressional oversight."Maria Recio is the Star-Telegram's Washington bureau chief, 202-383-6103Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
