Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the structure and governance of the Football Bowl Subdivision postseason should prioritize broad-based athletic opportunity, financial sustainability for college athletics, and competitive balance, and that innovative proposals to expand broad based postseason participation-such as proposals advanced by Coach Mike Leach-warrant serious consideration to mitigate anticompetitive effects in top-division college football.

Sponsor: Michael Baumgartner (Republican-WA)January 20, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

House calls for fairer college football playoffs and finances for student-athletes and institutions.

A resolution in the House of Representatives would state that college football's top division (FBS) should change its postseason to give more teams a chance to compete and make college athletics more financially stable. It would also suggest looking at new ideas, like bigger playoff brackets, to make competition fairer. This is a formal opinion from the House, not a law that forces changes.

What Would Change

Today, the top college football division (FBS) has a narrow 12-team playoff, meaning less than one in ten teams can compete for a championship. Many programs also lose money on bowl games, with the typical FBS program facing an operating deficit of about $19.3 million in 2022. If this resolution passes, the House of Representatives would formally state its view that the system should change to offer more teams a chance to compete, improve financial health for all programs, and ensure fairer competition, possibly through larger playoff brackets.

Key Provisions

The House would call for expanding competitive opportunities for student-athletes and institutions in the FBS postseason.
The House would recommend evaluating and reforming postseason design and revenue structures that create unfair advantages for a few schools.
The House would endorse innovative proposals, like Coach Mike Leach's ideas for larger playoff brackets (16, 32, or 64 teams), to improve opportunity and fair competition.

View on Congress.gov

HRES 1011 · 119th Congress · January 20, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity