WASHINGTON (CNN)  -- A Senate subcommittee Tuesday tackled one of the most contentious issues in U.S. sports: the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series that decides the top college football team each season. Tim Tebow, right, of the Florida Gators talks to coaches at the 2009 BCS national championship game January 8. Convened by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the hearing by the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittee provided a sounding board for his state's disappointment over the inability of the undefeated University of Utah to qualify for the BCS national championship game last January. The BCS operates under an agreement among the major college football conferences that decides which teams qualify for the biggest bowl games each season, including the national championship game.
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Convened by GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah
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Utah went undefeated and beat Alabama in Sugar Bowl last season, noted Hatch
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But BCS ranking system kept Utah out of national championship game, he said
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Teams in championship game each had one loss on their records, Hatch noted
For schools outside what he called the "privileged conferences," the @placeholder system has "significant and largely insurmountable obstacles to playing for a national championship," Hatch said.