Orrin Hatch wants Boise State football team at White House

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Sen. Orrin Hatch is urging President Obama to invite Boise State University to the White House along with Bowl Championship Series winner Alabama, arguing both undefeated teams deserve the honor traditionally afforded to college football’s national champion.

The Utah Republican, a fierce critic of the BCS, made the request in a letter to Obama today.

Hatch wrote that because there is no playoff, fans are left to speculate whether more than one team deserves to be called the best in college football. Hatch was already irate that his home state team, Utah, didn’t get to play for the national championship last year despite going undefeated.

Last fall, he urged Obama to ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the BCS violated antitrust laws, but has yet to receive a response.

In today’s letter, Hatch argued that inviting both teams would “send a clear message” that champions should be chosen on the field.

The current college bowl system features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer rankings.

In 2008, shortly after his election, Obama said he was going “to throw my weight around a little bit” to nudge college football toward a playoff system.

“In my view, inviting both these great football teams to the White House would be one particularly effective way to do just that,” Hatch wrote. “Furthermore, should you invite only Alabama, you would add legitimacy and credibility to a system we both believe to be flawed.”

The White House declined to comment on the letter.

Last month, a House subcommittee approved legislation that would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship unless it results from a playoff. But the bill faces a tough road ahead in Congress.

-- Associated Press