DOJ And NCAA May Face Off In Antitrust Bowl

The U.S. Department of Justice is weighing whether to pursue an investigation into the legality of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) Bowl Championship Series (“BCS”), which critics contend unfairly excludes smaller universities from the national football title.

Senator Orrin Hatch raised the issue in a letter to the Justice Department in October 2009 in which he complained that the BCS system is an artificial market barrier against smaller schools. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich has now responded to Senator Hatch in a letter that the DOJ is considering such a probe into “the current lack of a college football national championship playoff” because it “raises important questions affecting millions of fans, colleges and universities, players and other interested parties.”