Proof Is in the Playoff for Curious NCAA Fans

NCAA President Myles Brand, who spoke at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon Friday at Brookside Golf Club, said the No. 1 question he hears the most is: Why isn’t there a football playoff?

“The simple answer is, the 117 presidents at Division I-A schools like the bowl games,” Brand said. “And they’re leaving a lot of money on the table.”

Making a case that the current system is working, Brand pointed toward the nearby Rose Bowl and said, “What could be better than USC and Texas playing there Jan. 4?”

Blurted out a UCLA fan in the audience: “UCLA and Texas.”

Trivia time: Before becoming the head of the NCAA on Jan. 1, 2003, Brand was the president at Indiana University. Before going to Indiana in 1994, Brand was the president for six years at what Pacific 10 Conference school?

Easing up a bit: Of NCAA recruiting restrictions, Pittsburgh Coach Dave Wannstedt said Thursday on Fox Sports radio: “Think of this rule. We cannot call a prospect other than once a week, but we can text message them 10 times a day and say, ‘Call me,’ and they’ll call you back.”

This comment was pointed out to Brand, who said: “Some of our rules are very complex, and sometimes to comply with one you have to break another. In some cases, you can’t even buy a kid a hamburger.”

Brand said that is going to change.

“We’re going to have rules that are more student-athlete friendly,” he said. “But with major infractions, we’re going to be tough as nails.”

A prayer for UCLA: The other featured speaker at Friday’s luncheon was Lisa Love, former USC women’s volleyball coach and athletic department administrator who is now athletic director at Arizona State.

Before Love was introduced, everyone bowed their heads as longtime club member Tom Joyce delivered one of his light-hearted, rhyming invocations that included this passage:

“Assist our speakers, Lisa Love, athletic director for Arizona State, and Myles Brand, president of that NCAA team;

“Hope they can help our UCLA Bruins regain their former self-esteem.”

Said Love: “Did I just say a prayer for our opponent?”

Tough hit: Keyshawn Johnson, who wrote a book titled “Just Give Me the Damn Ball,” offered his opinion of the Terrell Owens saga on his Sirius satellite radio show Thursday night.

“The one thing that I will comment on is” Owens’ agent Drew Rosenhaus, Johnson said. “He’s a rat that belongs in the gutter. I can smell him a mile away. That guy doesn’t care about Terrell. He’s recruiting next year’s players.”

Trivia answer: Oregon.

And finally: Paul Tagliabue’s announcement of an agreement in principle to lease terms with the Coliseum, which could bring an NFL team to Los Angeles, was so unspecific that it prompted Associated Press’ John Nadel to ask the commissioner to assess the significance of what he had just said.

“I’d rather not try,” he replied.

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.