BCS doubted possible government action

Published Nov. 3, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The head of the Bowl Championship Series told college and university presidents last year that the Obama administration was unlikely to challenge its legality.

Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, also argued that even if the system for setting up college football's postseason were to be found illegal, so would a playoff.

Hancock made the assurance in a Feb. 4. 2010 memo to the BCS presidential oversight committee. The memo was sent a few days after the Obama administration said it was considering several steps to review the legality of the BCS.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the BCS memo from a state open records request filed with Western Kentucky University, whose president, Gary Ransdell, serves on the oversight committee.