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Congressional Hearings and the BCS: Using Public Choice Theory to Explain the Interest of Politicians in College FootballStephen W. Dittmore, PhDKristin L. Durant, M.Ed. StudentUniversity of Arkansas

Communism“It is like communism. You can't fix it. It will not be fixable. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to try and remodel. And that’s why we are here today.” – Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) during May 1, 2009 House Subcommittee Hearing (p. 6-7 of preliminary transcript)Photo Credit: AP

Public Choice TheoryFoundations developed by James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock in 1962 in their book The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional DemocracyAttempts to explain how public decisions are madeBroke from the tradition that politicians base decisions on ideological motivations or the welfare of the state. Rather, they are motivated by self-interest

Public Choice TheoryApplies economic theory and methodology to “explain behavior in nonmarket environments, such as government” (Tollison, 1985, p. 906)Begins with the “decision-making individual as he participates in the processes through which group choices are organized” (Buchanan & Tullock, 1962, p. 3)

Influences on Decision MakingVoting Public2007 Gallup Poll2009 Quinnipiac University PollPoliticiansPresident ObamaCongressional HearingsBureaucracyAntitrust LawCommerceFairnessPolitical Action CommitteesPlayoff PAC

Public Choice Theory“Public choice theory assumes that politicians want to win elections – otherwise they will not be politicians for long” (Lemieux, 2004, p. 27)Three “core” elements of public choice theory (Buchanan, 2003)Methodological individualismRational choicePolitics-as-exchange

Methodological IndividualismOstrom and Ostrom (1971, p. 205) noted “work in public choice begins with methodological individualism, where the perspective of a representative individual is used for analytical purposes” They identified four assumptions:Self-interestRationalityBenefit-maximizingUncertainty-minimizing

MethodologyPrimary researchers analyzed transcripts from Congressional hearings, news releases, and media articlesCoded direct quotes attributable to politicians along Ostrom and Ostrom’s (1971) four assumptions of methodological individualism: self-interest, rationality, benefit-maximizing, uncertainty-minimizing

Self-Interest FindingsPoliticians pandered to witnesses who had ties to their regions and/or engaged in hero-worshipping banter with celebrity witnesses“On a related subject, Mr. Young, we recently – the Jets lost our starting quarterback. You’re in town. It’s just something to keep in mind” – Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), speaking to Steve Young during Sept. 4, 2003 House Hearing (p. 37)“Let me just start, with you, Coach Edwards. I know you are the best and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t respect you as a human being, as an honest person, as a great coach, and as somebody who really has done an awful lot for college football and pro football” – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), addressing LaVell Edwards during Oct. 29, 2003 Senate Hearing (p. 20-21)

Self-Interest FindingsPoliticians seemed more interested when the issue involved a team from their home districtAfter 1-loss Texas did not make BCS Championship Game while Oklahoma, a team Texas beat did. “In some years the sport’s national championship winner was left unsettled, and at least one school was left out of the many millions of dollars in revenue that accompany the title” – Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) as quoted by Anna M. Tinsley on Dec. 11, 2008 in Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the recent college football season and the success enjoyed by the University of Utah’s football team” – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) speaking on the Senate floor, Jan. 30, 2009

Self-Interest FindingsPoliticians occasionally used the hearings to question witnesses on issues unrelated to the BCS “What specifically is the NCAA doing … to help increase opportunities for minority youth in this country?” – Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) speaking to Dr. Myles Brand during Sept. 4, 2003 House Hearing (p. 34)“I want to express my concern about the elimination of the support for these charitable organization games in the pre-season” – Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) speaking to Dr. Myles Brand during Sept. 4, 2003 House Hearing (p. 40)

Rationality FindingsSeveral politicians articulated beliefs that Congress should not be engaged in hearings on college football“I am a little dubious about us trying to micromanage college football and directing that we ought to have a playoff system that I am not sure would be good for the players or for the system” – Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) during Oct. 29, 2003 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing (p. 11)

“We have better and more important things to do. For me, the letters ‘BCS’ stand for business, consumers, and seniors. They need our help more than the NCAA and college football teams.” – Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) as quoted by Lester Munson on ESPN.com, Dec. 12, 2009Rationality Findings“I don’t think anyone here on either side of the aisle is suggesting that we might want to legislate a solution to the BCS. It is appropriately left to the conference, and I don’t think it would be right for Congress to step in and do that” – Rep. Fred Upton (D-Mich.) during Dec. 7, 2005 House Subcommittee hearing (p. 14)Benefit-Maximizing FindingsIf Lemeiux’s (2004) conclusion holds, politicians were constantly engaged in benefit-maximizing as defined by Ostrom and Ostrom (1971, p. 205):“The consistent choice of those alternatives, which an individual thinks will provide the highest net benefit as weighed by his own preferences”

Benefit-Maximizing FindingsAs noted in self-interest, politicians frequently discussed universities in their home districts“I might note for the record we (University of Delaware) are ranked number two in the nation, beat Navy, a Division I team in their homecoming at Navy last week… Having played at Delaware, I am incredibly proud of my alma mater” – Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) during Oct. 29, 2003 Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing (p. 7)“I as a father of a Penn State student would like this year to be a little bit more fulfilling for the Penn State team” – Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) during Dec. 7, 2005 House Subcommittee Hearing (p. 12)

Uncertainty-Minimizing FindingsPoliticians engaged in uncertainty-minimizing as they sought to understand the BCS and identify alternatives to the BCS“The purpose of today’s hearing is not to impose a solution that will satisfy all of the BCS and non-BCS schools, nor to abolish college athletic conferences. Rather, it is to examine the application of the antitrust laws to college athletics and to help identify ways to ensure that in the realm of college sports, merit prevails over money.” – Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)during Sept. 4, 2003 House Judiciary Committee Hearing (p. 2-3)

ObservationsGreater attention paid to the issue immediately following years in which the BCS generated controversy:In 2002 season, one-loss Boise State did not receive a BCS bowl bid while two-loss Washington State didIn 2004 season, USC, Auburn and Utah all finished undefeated. USC beat previously-unbeaten Oklahoma in Orange Bowl; Auburn beat Virginia Tech in Sugar Bowl; Utah beat Pittsburgh in Fiesta BowlIn 2008 season, Utah went undefeated and beat Alabama in 2009 Sugar Bowl; Boise State went undefeated but lost to TCU in Poinsettia Bowl; While Florida and Oklahoma, both one-loss teams, played in the championshipHearings were all held in non-election years (2003, 2005, 2009)Hearings initially were full committee hearings, but last three have been subcommittee hearings

ObservationsPoliticians find college football more interesting than discussing other policy issues“I look forward to this hearing as a sports fan, a college football fan in particular, and not necessarily as a legislator” – Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) during Dec. 7, 2005 House Subcommittee Hearing (p. 6)“Our Energy and Commerce Committee has been spending weeks and actually months now working on carbon sequestration and health care; and this is much more fun to talk about” – Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) during May 1, 2009 House Subcommittee Hearing (p. 11 of preliminary transcript)

ObservationsInterest in the topic appears to be isolated to a few members of Congress with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) leading each chamberDuring July 7, 2009 Senate Subcommittee Hearing, Sen. Hatch was the only committee member (out of 10) to question witnesses after Chairman Herb Kohl’s (D-WI) opening remarksDuring May 1, 2009 House Subcommittee Hearing, only Rep. Barton, Chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) (out of 32) questioned witnesses

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)Ranking member of U.S. Senate, elected in 1976Links to his statements on BCS are listed under “Intellectual Property & Antitrust”Jan. 30, 2009 distributed four-page release with comments from Senate floor. May 8, 2009 c0-authored letter (w/Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT)) to BCS administrators calling on BCS to voluntarily correct financial “inequities” of systemIllustration by Darrow; Sports Illustrated, July 6, 2009, p. 14

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)July 6, 2009 – authored commentary in Sports Illustrated on eve of July 7 hearingJuly 7, 2009 – leads hearing of Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee as ranking memberOct. 21, 2009 – sends letter to President Obama requesting DOJ investigation into BCSJan. 29, 2010 – comments on DOJ’s response which indicates DOJ is “reviewing” issueMarch 9, 2010 – c0-authors letter (w/Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)) to BCS encouraging BCS to disclose revenue distribution information

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)Member of U.S. House since 1985. Ranking member of House Energy and Commerce CommitteeNo references to BCS on issues page of his websiteDec. 10, 2008 – sponsors H.R. 7330, College Football Playoff Act of 2008Jan. 9, 2009 – sponsors H.R. 390, College Football Playoff Act of 2009May 1, 2009 – “grilled” BCS coordinator during hearing of Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee as ranking member

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)“My strongest opinion on this issue is the fact that my team, Texas A&M, is never mentioned in the same breath as national champion for college football, but with Coach Sherman maybe one of these days will change.” – Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) during May 1, 2009 House Subcommittee Hearing (p. 6-7 of preliminary transcript)No mention of BCS or football on re-election site (www.joebarton.com)

ConclusionsConsistent with public choice theory, politicians do appear to act in own self-interest in their involvement with college football, especially when their constituents may be harmedPandering, hero-worshipping, self-interest, schmoozingNo consensus among politicians to actually legislate for system changeSen. Hatch has recently sought to have Justice Department reviewShift over time from antitrust and fairness concerns to, more recently, commerce and consumer protection concernsH.R. 599 approaches it from federal funding standpoint

Future ResearchApply two remaining cores of public choice theory – rational choice and politics-as-exchange to the discussionExamine Congressional involvement with college football from perspective of justice theory (Rawls, 1971)He concluded legislative discussions should not be conceived as a “contest between interests but as an attempt to find the best policy as defined by the principles of justice” (p. 357)

What Happens Next?H.R. 390: College Football Playoff Act of 2009 was referred to full House Committee on Energy & Commerce, having passed a voice vote in its subcommittee on Dec. 9, 2009Same as H.R. 7330: College Football Playoff Act of 2008 introduced by Rep. Barton on Dec. 10, 2008H.R. 599: Championship Fairness Act of 2009 was referred to full House Committee on Education & Labor on Jan. 16, 2009H.Res. 68 supporting the establishment of playoff was referred to a House Committee on Education & Labor subcommittee on March 6, 2009Same as H.Res. 1120 referred to House Committee on Education & Labor on April 17, 2008Photo from ax2groin’s flickrphotostream

Thank you…dittmore@uark.edukldurant@uark.edu

Congressional Hearing and the BCS

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Congressional Hearing and the BCS

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