Great realignment inequity article

[Coach Bill Lewis]

Bennett has witnessed it the same as everyone else. The Power 5 conferences — the nickname bestowed upon the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12 — and the Group of 5 leagues, which includes C-USA, have each gravitated toward opposite ends of the financial spectrum in recent years. In 2005, Texas A&M generated $64.2 million in revenue, while Southern Miss hauled in $18.2 million. More than a decade later, Texas A&M’s (which joined the SEC in 2011) total revenue has increased by 203 percent. Over the same span, Southern Miss has seen its number grow by just 42 percent.

 

For Bennett, the gap became vastly more precipitous with the advent of television networks solely dedicated to the coverage of certain leagues and the influx of cash attached to them.

“I think it really started when institutions started seeing significant dollars related to TV rights and packages. The ability to market and sell TV rights to organizations in the media really set us on a different trajectory,” said Bennett, the first Southern Miss president to serve as chairman of C-USA's board of directors in its 20-plus year history.

The course in question began moving toward the stratosphere in earnest a few years ago. The SEC reported $527.4 million worth of revenue in 2014-15, the first year of the College Football Playoff and the SEC Network. That figure represented a more than 60 percent increase over the previous year and brought in more than $33 million per SEC institution. In fiscal year 2015, the Big Ten made $448.8 million from its media rights agreement.

C-USA, on the other hand, is headed into the second and final year of a media rights deal that will net $2.8 million.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story...589702001/

 

[untjim1995]

This is exactly why FBS isn't a good representation of the current college football situation--the Power Schools need to just separate at play each other in an NFL-like setup. Then, you let these other teams get a chance at winning a national championship against teams that are at a more equal level. Its one thing to play a school with a budget that is $10-$15 million more than ours--its an entirely different situation for us to play someone with a budget that is double, triple, or quadruple our budget.

[southsideguy]

the rich get richer and it will destroy what college football should be about.  We have the NFL for that.  How about we make the athletes have the same entrance and other academic requirements as any other student at the university. I saw a quote from the UCLA qb saying just that and he mention alabama and ohio state by name.  He said they would not be a powerhouse lol.  We all know it is true.  The greedy few will destroy the college game.  Just make everyone have the same budgets (within the five million) for the their program.

[Ben Gooding]

56 minutes ago, southsideguy said:

the rich get richer and it will destroy what college football should be about.  We have the NFL for that.  How about we make the athletes have the same entrance and other academic requirements as any other student at the university. I saw a quote from the UCLA qb saying just that and he mention alabama and ohio state by name.  He said they would not be a powerhouse lol.  We all know it is true.  The greedy few will destroy the college game.  Just make everyone have the same budgets (within the five million) for the their program.

I have been saying this for years. Though I am not sure what financial dip you would have within the power programs. The product will dip, but the passion for the game will remain. And that passion is what drives their revenue. The proof there is that college basketball across the board is usually a pretty awful product, but the passion and the excitement drives revenue. 

I think the requirements should be the same because it should just be. Why water down the academic achievement? But people aren't willing to water down the on field product? It needs to be done and it needs to be widespread simultaneously. This is the place of higher education, not higher athletics. 

[RBP79]

The Power 5 are semi pro leagues, everyone knows it. They pay their athletes, either straight up monetarily or thru benefits received by them or family members. There is a reason NTSU/UNT has never been on NCAA probation.....cause we barely paid coaches or their staff. This will IMHO never be addressed by the NCAA concerning the Power 5. Its all about the money..and in this case its true, " the Rich keep getting Richer!" It will take a state legislature and them pressing the Power 5 to get an outsider in. Look at UH, that talk has now been silenced....and how did Okie State get in years back!!! I hate it, but it is what it is......