Is the BCS no better than a ’63 Corvair?

Yep, Ralph Nader, author of Unsafe At Any Speed, has set his sights on the Bowl Championship Series. (h/t DawgSports)

Displaying the same sensitivity and insight that contributed to George Bush becoming (as opposed to being elected) President in 2000, Nader urges the creation of a playoff system run by the NCAA because there “… should never be so much power in the hands of so few without accountability as the BCS demonstrates each year…”

No doubt there are many thousands of Alabama fans who think highly of the accountability of the NCAA.

According to Nader,

…The BCS is responsible for concentrating the wealth that comes from the major post-season events (Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls, and the National Championship game) among the schools in conferences with BCS influence, and leaving the other Division I-A, non-BCS schools at a competitive, financial and recruiting disadvantage…

Silly me – I thought that the fact that the mid-major school with the highest average attendance (BYU) ranked only twenty sixth overall in college football attendance might be an indication that fan support is a significant factor in why some schools traditionally enjoy advantages in finances and recruiting over others. Instead, Ralph claims it’s just them damned, ee-vil bowl games.

Nader thinks we need a playoff system because teams with equal records don’t get treated equally by the BCS:

The biggest area of controversy with the BCS system is unquestionably the disputed method for deciding a national champion. For starters, since the creation of the BCS in 1998, the convoluted mix of polls and computers to decide what schools should be appointed to play in the title game has succeeded only twice without controversy.

But no system could succeed that has to ”decide” among schools with equal records and valid claims of inclusion when only two spots are available. And no system could succeed that leaves such a remote chance for a non-BCS school to compete for the championship, even with a perfect record.

Record attendance, record TV exposure, record revenues… somehow that fails to equate to “success” for Nader who thinks we’re getting royally screwed by ‘Da Man:

… Excluding deserving teams and student-athletes from the chance to compete also amounts to consumer fraud for the fans.

Consumer fraud? Wow, here I’ve been worried about the conference commissioners, the school presidents and the networks duking it out over the BCS/playoff battle, and I’ve totally ignored another front – trial lawyers.

I, for one, would welcome our new shark overlords. After the lawyers milk the schools, bowls and networks for tens of millions in a lawsuit, we fans would probably get a class action settlement equivalent to the price of a Diet Coke at the stadium.  Or this:

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