There is a level of preferential treatment that certain universities may be receiving because they bring a ton of revenue to the athletic programs via television. The Bowl Conference Championship Series exemplifies the emphasis on revenue and financial bottom lines.

The BCS system may be perceived to be in existence to guarantee many major conferences and regional sports networks (RSNs) television and media exposure in the multiple bowl games held at the end of the NCAA Division I football season.

The raw power of RSNs and sponsors drive mainstream sports in the U.S., and it is no different with the BCS Series. However, there is a spillover effect here: Institutions are competing to find success in any way they can to land a bowl game. This can challenge the integrity of the game, whether it is due to malpractice in recruiting or giving preferential treatment to football programs over other sports programs within an institution. In the case of the latter, this challenges Title IX sanctions in place to restrict such abuses of funding.

The NCAA is talking in the same language as the movie Jerry Maguire: Show me the money!

Legal Aspect

As stated above, with so much money on the line, I would not put it past some universities to give preferential treatment to their football programs.

Another issue is that the BCS conferences allegedly receive preferential treatment in the form of millions of dollars in bowl bids and earnings over non-BCS conferences. This cycle is essentially creating a second class of conferences that do not benefit from the multimillion-dollar media and sponsorship deals done with the BCS -- not to mention a lack of prime-time exposure to showcase their schools to potential prospects.

The Associated Press has reported that the University of Utah is looking into the Sherman Antitrust Act to see if a lawsuit can be filed against the BCS. In case you have been living under a rock, The University of Utah went undefeated this season and did not receive a bid to play in the National Championship. This is the second time that has happened to Utah since 2003.

To succeed in a lawsuit, the university would have to prove a conspiracy exists that creates a monopoly amongst the already established BCS conferences.

The Sherman Act of 1890 states, "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $350,000."

The Act also states that no contracts shall be in "combination in form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce between any such territory and another –- and any such state and another."

If so, it is declared illegal.

Is the BCS a monopoly of sorts? Is the BCS conducting contracts across territories and states while excluding others? It sure looks that way from my perspective. The smaller conferences are missing out on the big television contracts that are being negotiated.

When Utah’s Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, was asked by the Associated Press on the matter, he was quoted as saying, "It's not about bragging rights. It's a multimillion dollar -- hundreds of millions -- business where the BCS schools get richer and non-BCS get poorer."

If you look at the facts, it seems like Utah might have a valid argument.

Time for NCAA Football 10 to step up and deliver what fans really want.

Governance for NCAA Football 10

As a governing body, the NCAA must be at the top of its game at all times to preserve the integrity, history and prestige of collegiate athletics while moving ahead. So, how about giving some fans a vehicle to mobilize potential ideas into productive solutions?

As an NCAA Football 09 player, a Dynasty mode with a unique ability to govern the NCAA’s conferences and BCS could be quite engaging. We are already provided with a function in preseason to tinker with scheduling and the rearranging of conferences -- just imagine tinkering with the BCS.

We all have creative minds and ideas here within our Operation Sports community. Why not give players an option to be the NCAA governance itself? This would allow for huge amounts of creativity for both online and offline dynasty users. Each dynasty could take on a whole new personality and mold to the preferences of the players.

Adding components such as RSN deals would make your dynasty even more competitive and realistic. For example, landing a conference television deal or receiving a bowl bid would result in more recruiting revenue for the university and an increase in prospect interest -- and really, that is just one way more flexibility and customization would add value to a Dynasty mode in NCAA Football 10.

These little options that you could tinker with while setting up your dynasty could go a long way in the replay-value department. Adding and subtracting conferences of your choice to the BCS, adjusting the values of the BCS formula components, and even manipulating the bowl games to simulate a more playoff-based system would develop an unprecedented level of customization in a sports game.

It does not look like the BCS is going away any time soon. But, as a sports gamer, it would be awfully interesting to see what could be done as the virtual NCAA governing body.