HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	169
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Urging the national collegiate athletic association to implement a playoff system to determine a national champion in the football bowl subdivision of collegiate football.

     WHEREAS, football, a very popular sport throughout the United States, is played in leagues of different size, age, and quality, in all regions of the country; and

     WHEREAS, one of the most popular venues in which the game of football is played is at the collegiate level where a majority of colleges and universities field football teams; and

     WHEREAS, the governing body of collegiate sports is known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, more commonly referred to as the NCAA; and

     WHEREAS, the NCAA recently reorganized its football divisions, and renamed Division I-A, the highest level of collegiate football as the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS); and

     WHEREAS, the FBS is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an organized tournament to determine a champion, relying instead on a number of post-season bowl games in what is known as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to determine a national champion; and

     WHEREAS, the BCS is a highly lucrative system in which six of the nations most powerful football conferences receive automatic bids, and an additional four teams receive bids through a point system; and

     WHEREAS, the BCS point system is determined through a variety of factors, most notably complex mathematical computations and polls, but also includes politics and corporate and television influences that rarely relate to the qualities that make a football team successful on the field; and

     WHEREAS, smaller conferences, often referred to as "Mid-majors", as well as independent football schools, are often left out of the equation as they do not receive automatic bids but must meet a complicated set of criteria to even be eligible to play in one of the five lucrative bowl games of the BCS; and

     WHEREAS, although the BCS was designed with the intent of  identifying a true national champion at college football's highest level of play, the system has been controversial and often criticized, and has at times been referred to as the "Mythical National Championship" since disputes often arise as to who is deserving of the number one ranking; and

     WHEREAS, the 2007 college football season was one of the most memorable to date with outstanding plays and players and a number of memorable games, many of which involved major upsets; and

     WHEREAS, the 2007 college football season also highlighted the parity of modern college football, with teams from the "Mid Majors" and smaller conferences and divisions playing well and defeating teams from the so-called power, or BCS conferences; and

     WHEREAS, the only way to determine an undisputed and true national champion in the FBS is to have a playoff system similar to those operated in the other divisions of collegiate football; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the NCAA is urged to implement a playoff system to determine a national champion in the Football Bowl Subdivision of collegiate football; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Urging the NCAA to implement a playoff system to determine a national champion in the football bowl subdivision of collegiate football.