Duke basketball coach takes shot at college football

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski took a shot at college football on Sunday and may have provided testimony for any future lawsuits against the Bowl Championship Series.

Krzyzewski said there was no way a team such as Butler could make it to the championship game in football.

“It’s a completely different animal,” Krzyzewski said. “And they don’t have a system that would allow a smaller school to get into the spotlight with the BCS. They know what the heck they’re doing as far as monopoly.”

Ouch.

Duke football is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the six original BCS conferences.

And Duke’s athletic director is Kevin White, the former AD at Notre Dame, another BCS school that is against a playoff in college football.

“That’s why I think our tournament has captured America, because everybody can get in it,” Krzyzewski said.

Krzyzewski’s statement may get put to the test next year when Boise State, which returns almost all its starters off an undefeated team, likely enters the football season ranked in the top five.

Truth is, Boise State can win the national title next year — but that’s an argument for another day.

Howard’s status

Butler junior forward Matt Howard suffered a mild concussion in Saturday night’s win over Michigan State and will be a game-time decision for Monday night’s title game against Duke.

“We are monitoring [Matt’s] symptoms, and he’ll be evaluated by our team physician on Monday,” Butler athletic trainer Ryan Galloy said. “It will be a game-time decision as to whether he can play on Monday night or not.”

Private function

Duke vs. Butler is the first championship game featuring private schools since Villanova and Georgetown met for the title in 1985.

The combined enrollment for Duke-Butler (10,540) is the smallest since the 1955 game between San Francisco and La Salle, which had a combined enrollment of 9,972.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com