Could an "Unholy Alliance" be what's needed to trigger meaningful reform in the governance of collegiate athletics?
About six months ago, Ohio State AD Gene Smith publicly suggested that the Power 5 schools withdraw their football programs from the NCAA and set up their own governance structure to reflect the fact that big-time college football is a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise. Putting aside our bitter rivalry with the Buckeyes for a moment, this is actually a very intriguing suggestion.
Smith said that he's received "mixed reviews" of his idea from his peers. Judging by the rumors that have circulated about Warde Manuel and his handling of Harbaugh's contract negotiations, my guess is that Manuel was among those who weren't all that enthusiastic about Smith's proposal. And aside from that, let's be honest: Michigan seems like the kind of pro-establishment institution that would support the NCAA's archaic model.
If it's indeed true that Manuel is now on his way out (and given that our new president Santa Ono is a pro-athletics outsider), now that Michigan finds itself in the crosshairs of the NCAA's morally bankrupt lunacy, might it make sense for a sea change within the administration on the issue of the NCAA and its continued relevance? More specifically, should Santa include a willingness to challenge the NCAA's governance model among the criteria in evaluating candidates for a new AD. Should that new AD offer to support Smith and team up with Ohio State to make his proposal a reality? If two of collegiate athletics' biggest brands, who happen to be bitter rivals of each other, were to team up in spearheading some kind of movement to sideline the NCAA (or force a drastic overhaul), might it boost the chances of success for such a movement? Imagine how it would be received by the rest of the Power 5 if Michigan and Ohio State were to join forces on such a project.
TL;DR - Perhaps Gene Smith was right when he suggested that the Power 5 football programs should withdraw from the NCAA, and maybe Michigan should throw its support behind his proposal.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:55 PM ^
Check with Urban Meyer first to see if he’s fired Gene Smith yet. If not, then perhaps.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:58 PM ^
First and foremost . . . Fuck OSU. 42-27. 45-23. Suck it!
That said. . . Perhaps. At least OSU's incompetence has brought be some joy unlike the NCAA's incompetence.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:00 PM ^
Maybe...unless the new organization is even worse!
January 19th, 2023 at 9:09 PM ^
I think a flaming bag of shit would be better than the NCAA. North Carolina, Kansas, LSU, Arizona State et al have cheated their brains out and what do they have for show for it? Not even a slap on the wrist. The NCAA is allowing tampering and pay for play with all the evidence in the world and nothing's happening with it. Our coach buys a couple burgers and they fucking go nuts. Burn them to the ground.
January 20th, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
NCAA - organization created and run by all member schools.
P5 replacement for NCAA - organization created and run by all member schools... but the member schools are a CONCENTRATION of the cheaters from the old NCAA.
With the current NCAA - a large majority of the members are non-cheaters who lose money at sports.
When you cut the league down to just the P5 teams - you're getting all the cheaters, but leaving lots and lots of non-cheaters behind.
You think governance where the SEC would be an almost majority vote would be BETTER?
January 20th, 2023 at 8:32 AM ^
I regret that I have but one thumbs up to give. This right here is why you don't follow anything OSU is proposing. Putting the cheaters in charge of Michigan's football destiny? Eliminate any programs that have integrity? While you're at it, why not put the SEC in charge of training and hiring refs for B1G games? And let Vegas casino owners bankroll them.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:03 PM ^
It'd be hilarious if the NCAA turned an ally into an enemy because they chose to die on this particular hill.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^
Yeah, this wasn’t the hill the ncaa wanted to go to war over.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:43 PM ^
did you mean 'turn an enemy into an ally'?
January 19th, 2023 at 9:43 PM ^
Maybe the OP meant An OSU and the NCAA are allies.
January 19th, 2023 at 10:40 PM ^
I think he’s saying umich and NCAA were Allie’s until NCAA waged war against umich, then became enemies while umich and osu became Allie’s, enemies enemies allies
January 20th, 2023 at 5:19 AM ^
that would be right up their alley, wouldn't it?
January 20th, 2023 at 11:38 AM ^
There once was a girl named Sally
Who enjoyed the occasional dally.
She sat on the lap
Of a well-endowed chap,
And said, "Sir! You're right up my alley!"
January 20th, 2023 at 8:33 AM ^
So Michigan and OSU would become frenemies?
January 20th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
let's not take it that far. next thing you know they'll be wanting us to fill coolers with them...
January 19th, 2023 at 8:09 PM ^
A bit like the Premier League.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
Seems more like the European Super League
January 19th, 2023 at 8:20 PM ^
Nah, since that was bad. This would be good. Hence, it's more like the Prem League, which was good.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:12 PM ^
I just don’t see a single SEC team going for this. Nor other conferences with teams who have been busted on FBI wire taps with 0 repercussions. Why would they want to agree to a set of rules when the current set is a rules for thee but not for me free-for-all.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
True but if Disney tells them to do it they will. No clue how that works between Disney and Fox since they compete with each other but have a lot of co-ownership.
January 19th, 2023 at 10:04 PM ^
Disney owns ABC and ESPN. The SEC network is basically a lightly rebranded ESPN.
Fox Sports, BTN, and the Fox Regional Sports Networks were not part of the Disney acquisition. (They may have been very briefly owned by Disney but they were almost immediately spun off and sold, and Disney has no ownership interest anymore.)
January 20th, 2023 at 7:56 AM ^
Current SEC voting power in NCAA:
10.6% of the votes.
SEC Voting power in proposed P5 league:
21.5% of the votes.
They would have MORE control of the rules and enforcement.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
The Power 5 does need their own league. The smaller schools have zero chance at competing so they deserve their own league and championship
January 19th, 2023 at 8:38 PM ^
Santa may feel different. He's making a list, checking it twice
January 19th, 2023 at 8:58 PM ^
Possibly, though still unlikely. The NCAA still does a lot of good organizing and legitimizing competition for all sports other than football.
If anything should be done, it should be led by the conferences. The 16 team Big Ten and SEC are going to have a near-monopoly on the relevant college football programs. If they expand further to include Notre Dame and others, it will be easy for the two conferences to combine and agree to a common set of rules that they set themselves, independent from the NCAA.
It's been pretty clear to me from the latest round of expansion, plus the talks of even more additions, that that's where this is all headed.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:38 AM ^
The NCAA still does a lot of good organizing and legitimizing competition for all sports other than football
Yeah.
For example, look at all the good the NCAA has done for Women's basketball come tournament time.
:facepalm:
January 20th, 2023 at 7:26 AM ^
men's football & basketball. you know, where the SSS comes from.
The NCAA in its current form is obsolete. Reform it and set up a separate organization for CFB & CBB to share the revenue with players.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
Not the point.
The poster I was responding to mentioned the NCAA is relevant outside of FB. That's a joke; the NCAA is feckless, incompetent, and inconsistent in non-revenue sports too.
January 20th, 2023 at 7:36 AM ^
"The NCAA still does a lot of good organizing and legitimizing competition for all sports other than football. "
WHAT? there are recordings of Louisville (Pitino), Arizona (Miller, & LSU (Wade) offering cash for BASKETBALL recruits. What enforcement was taken?
https://andscape.com/features/hbos-the-scheme-feels-like-a-commercial-for-christian-dawkins-and-not-much-else/
The NCAA b-ball tournament sells itself. It sure as heck doesn't need the NCAA to run it. Add b-ball to football---the two that generate the dough-- and I might agree.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
and UNC fake classes, grades.
.
.
.
SMU is looking at the current state of the NCAA and going we got the death penalty for what?
January 19th, 2023 at 9:12 PM ^
Did I miss news if Warde’s imminent dismissal, or are we just assuming so based on the weeks events? I’m not on the insider boards so thought maybe I missed something
January 19th, 2023 at 9:21 PM ^
I have no inside info, but given the curious wording of Santa's statement on Harbaugh (i.e., the fact that he felt it necessary to point out that Harbaugh called *him* and that *he's* the one who conveyed the news to Warde), it's hard not to get the sense that Warde is on thin ice at a minimum. Even if Harbaugh hates Warde right now and refuses to deal with him, there was absolutely no reason for Santa to include that tidbit in his statement unless he's laying the groundwork to push Warde out.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:25 AM ^
Ok thanks
January 19th, 2023 at 9:28 PM ^
Regardless whose idea it was or wasn't there is an obvious chasm developing in CFB and there is no way the majority of the current D1 schools can compete as a class system is quickly developing. Something needs to change or it will only get worse. The NCAA should be left to oversee whatever remains of the universities that dont join the big boy club. The majority of the power 5 schools have rendered the NCAA an obsolete, toothless organization and a change is imperative before it implodes.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:50 PM ^
NCAA is outdated and based on false premises that no longer apply if they ever did in the modern era.
January 19th, 2023 at 10:14 PM ^
Gene Smith was even more guilty than Urban Meyer in the domestic violence cover up. I wouldn’t follow him on anything. Total snake. He would need to create a governing body that would immediately remove HIM from his position.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:21 AM ^
The (non deep south) programs that continue to be the only ones the NCAA punish need to band together and put their petty shit aside. The fact that USC, Ohio st, UM, and Penn state have had more penalties than LSU, Georgia, Bama, and A and M combined is silly. At least they should have equal NCAA investigations/penalties.
January 20th, 2023 at 12:36 AM ^
Michigan seems like the kind of pro-establishment institution that would support the NCAA's archaic model
Michigan should be a model institution to make this happen.
Michigan is a brand that is a cash cow -- Michigan doesn't need the NCAA. The NCAA needs the schools that can stand on their own to keep their power... Notre Dame, Texas, Michigan, etc.
January 20th, 2023 at 1:24 AM ^
Not just football but also basketball. I believe March Madness is the major source of NCAA revenue.
January 20th, 2023 at 2:07 AM ^
It makes sense. It’s a logical next step. It could clean up the NIL mess and move towards an organized and structured league tailored to program needs. I could see it follow elements of the NFL framework or even what the B1G did with a media package. Keep the providers, but split revenue evenly between all schools. They could standardize compensation packages or even implement a salary cap. Salaries caps would probably be based on tv revenue like in the NFL.
People get up in arms about players as employees, but it would be not much different than GSI’s and GSRA’s. They would legitimate benefits packages. It’s standard practice for grad students to negotiate funding packages after admission when determine where to go to school. Programs have a finite amount of funds and prioritize certain students. Player’s getting paid would operate within the existing framework.
NIL would have no bearing on where you play. It would be independent like most endorsement deals in professional leagues.
No one would care about burgers and bagels.
January 20th, 2023 at 2:16 AM ^
It's almost always beneficial to all parties to cut out as many "middlemen" as possible.
January 20th, 2023 at 7:39 AM ^
Blow it up. Whatever works.
January 20th, 2023 at 8:33 AM ^
I doubt Smith/OSU proposed blowing up the NCAA to replace it with some highly ethical organization with teeth that strictly enforces tough rules. My guess is they want a replacement organization that is at least as lax, but results in more $ going to OSU.
January 20th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
Isn't Gene Smith under consideration for the next BIG Ten Commissioner? I shudder at the thought of such a Pro-Buckeye individual holding the top spot of the BIG Ten. I could see him proposing that OSU is allowed 8 home BIG TEN games every year and Michigan has to play @USC at night; @Penn St; @UCLA at night; @OSU in that order to end every season....
/s.... kind of
January 20th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
There really is no governance. It's an utter s&$%show of illegality, and the NCAA run around like meter maids handing out expired meter tickets. Senseless, and time for it to go, either in favor or another sensible organization or the free market. I prefer the former, but time for NCAA to go
January 20th, 2023 at 11:59 AM ^
In the next 10 years, I think there will be an exodus from the NCAA. However, I think 'power 5' is an outdated term. It's power 2 at this point. I expect this to end with two 20-30 team leagues that are made up of the original B10 and SEC along with whatever high market value teams they each add over the next decade. It'll be a sort of AFL/NFL situation where teams play exclusively in their respective league and crown their own champion. At some point maybe they merge to make a single college league, or maybe it becomes a AL/NL situation with the respective champions meeting for a final game.