On Wednesday, the draft of a letter from United States assistant attorney general Christine Varney to NCAA president Mark Emmert asking, among other things, why there is no playoff system in Div. 1-A football was released.
The only problem, though, was that the NCAA had not received the letter. Today, two days later, that head-scratching oversight has been corrected.
The NCAA confirmed to USA Today Friday that the association has now received a copy of the Department of Justice letter. Additionally, spokesman Bob Williams told the paper that the NCAA is already formulating a response to the questions asked in the letter, although there’s no timeline as far as when the response will be finished.
The DOJ, with prompting from the likes of Utah’s attorney general and a United State senator from the same state, has long been considering an investigation into the BcS and potential antitrust issues involving the cartel. The letter to the NCAA was seen by some as the DOJ’s first step toward what many consider an inevitable probe, although a Justice spokesperson would only say today that "[w]e continue to review whether to open an inquiry into the legality of the current system under the antitrust laws.”
The answers to the three questions posed to the NCAA’s Emmert in the Varney letter could go a long way in determining the next step taken by the Justice Department, particularly the one that asks "[h]ave you determined that there are aspects of the BCS system that do not serve the interests of fans, colleges, universities, and players?”
Based on our little poll, the interests of the fans is most certainly not being served. More importantly, though, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by eschewing a playoff system is most certainly not serving the best interests of cash-strapped colleges and universities across this country. Even as the presidents of some of these institutions are the very individuals clinging to the power that comes with the current system at the expense -- and exclusion -- of others.