The BCS isn’t exactly Robin Hood

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The BCS has long been criticized for fuzzy math in determining a college football champion. Now its claims about charitable giving are being called into question.

Alamo Bowl Executive Director Derrick Fox, speaking on behalf of the BCS, told a congressional subcommittee this month that ‘almost all the postseason bowl games are put on by charitable groups’ and ‘local charities receive tens of millions of dollars every year.’

‘ORLY?’ asked the sleuths over at Yahoo Sports (we’re paraphrasing). They determined:

• Out of $186.3 million in BCS revenue, just $3.2 million went to local charities, according to the most recent federal tax records.
• While generously giving $3.2 million to charity, the BCS also accepted almost $5.5 million in direct government spending.
• The BCS claims to have $140.9 million in net assets, including $80.6 million in the bank.
• 23 of 34 bowl games have tax-exempt status (10 are private, one is government-owned).

After tearing apart the BCS’ charitable giving claims and getting some displeased quotes from Congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas), the Yahoo story goes on to dispel myths about the extent of economic impacts on host cities.

So why does anybody defend this system? The story covers that too:

[Craig] Thompson, the Mountain West commissioner, testified that the six major conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC) received 87.4 percent of BCS revenue. In contrast, the same six conferences took home just 61 percent of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament revenue.

The best BCS quote of the week comes totally out of left field, from Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy while discussing the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals against the prohibitive favorite Cleveland Cavs:

The bottom line is this is not the BCS, where people get to vote for who the best teams are. We actually get to play on the court to decide that.

-- Adam Rose

Photo: Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series at Capitol Hill on May 1. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. Credit: Susan Walsh / Associated Press