Many complained back in 2005 when Congress called hearings into the allegations of steroid use in baseball. Didn’t Congress have more important things to do, such as (fill in your pet issue here).

But it turned into great theater as Mark McGwire refused to answer congressional questions. In fact, it was such an embarrassment that the backward monarchs of baseball were forced to act.

Was this an issue of paramount national importance? No. But Congress, seeing that baseball was ignoring the issued, acted, and we’re better off that it did.

A similar situation is looming now in college football. Major college football is the only major sport without a true champion and remains captive to the specific interests of the bowls. It’s an arcane, and frustrating, system and should be revised.

There are legitimate reasons for why a playoff is difficult. How do you handle the logistics of getting tickets to your fans? Can your fan base support multiple road games? How many teams should make a playoff, and what happens to the current bowl structure?

But all this is overcome in other sports, including what was once called Division II. No one  complains about the lack of academic integrity when college basketball players travel the continent in March.

There are a myriad of options for the Bowl Championship Series, and there is no point recounting them all here. But 16 teams in the tournament is the maximum. It’s unfair to expect a team to play more than four games and risk the injuries that come with it.  In fact, the best way to do it would probably be to have 12 teams and give the top four seeds byes. And yes, there would be a way to incorporate the bowls.

The old system has just lasted too long, and it’s time to move on.  Good for Congress for recognizing that, and for acting when college football will not.

To read a different take from Capital Sports’ Cliff Barnes click here.