Bowl Championship Series coordinator, Kevin Weiberg and five others representing different bowl games were present, Dec. 7, for a congressional hearing on the state of the BCS at the request of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The hearing, chaired by Republican Joe Barton of Texas, turned into a two-hour question and answer session in which members of Congress drilled Weiberg and his colleagues about why college football is the only collegiate sport that doesn’t hold a post-season tournament to crown a champion, and whether the system is more favorable to teams of certain conferences when deciding the BCS bowls.

Barton said there were no plans for legislation on the subject, and said the purpose of the hearing was to get people talking about it.

“Why can’t it do it? Why can’t it do it?” asked Barton according to www.house.gov. “We’re not going to introduce a playoff bill after this hearing. But I hope this hearing causes discussion. I would like to see the NCAA and the major conferences and the BCS come together on their own to develop a playoff system.”

Weinberg responded that Division I-A college football is content with the current system.

“It certainly, congressman, is possible to have a playoff at the Division I-A level, as well. We have chosen not to go down that path,” Weinberg said.

Football Bowl Association chairman and Alamo Bowl CEO, Derrick Fox, expressed concern for preserving the tradition of the game.

“The bowls are not perfect, and the Bowl Championship Series is not perfect,” said Fox on the House floor. “But a playoff system is dangerous.”

Sports talk radio shows across the country have been inundated with callers opposing Congress’ involvement in sports. This isn’t the first time Congress has gotten involved in sports; just recently they addressed the steroid problem in Major League Baseball.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who opposes change to the current system, began his statement with:

“Today, with an ongoing war in Iraq, thousands of Katrina evacuees still in need of homes, millions of Americans without health insurance, the potential for an avian flu pandemic, soaring home heating costs and an $8.12 trillion debt, Congress held a hearing on the best way to pick a college football champion.”

The BCS was created in 1998 by the six most powerful conferences. Since then, the system has been tweaked to make it easier for teams from smaller conferences to qualify for the top games.