Senator Orrin Hatch prepares for BCS hearings

I just got off the phone with Utah’s senior senator Orrin Hatch who will conduct a hearing on Tuesday with the Senate Judiciary Committee on the BCS.

Hatch was very adamant, even emotional, in describing the arrogance of those in charge of the BCS. “While the majority of those who follow or are involved in college sports do not like the current system and the BCS, they are going forward anyway and extending the system another four years,” Hatch said.

He called it arrogance.

Hatch then described how 80 percent of the revenue in college football is going to six conferences with automatic qualifiers to the BCS — regardless of record while the rest of college football divvies up the rest. He called that a clear and distinct violation of Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, U.S. law that governs unfair competitive practices or cartels.

Hatch said the committee would hear both sides in Tuesday afternoon’s hearing which he bellieves will last a couple of hours. Two law experts — one for and one against anti-trust allegations — will lend legal opinions.

Our Washington correspondent Lee Davidson and I both interviewed Hatch via telephone for a story that will run in Tuesday’s editions.