NCAA Board of Governors vote could strike significant blow to FBS college football being played this fall

Coach Andy Mac · July 24, 2020

The likelihood of the 2020 college football season being played this fall just entered another DEFCON level. Call it what you want -- a tipping point, high alert, Judgment Day.

On Friday, the NCAA Board of Governors is scheduled to consider voting on whether to cancel fall championships. One source told CBS Sports that is the only agenda item for the NCAA's highest governing body.

In essence, Friday could become that go/no go moment for the college football season.

While the vote -- in the moment -- would have no direct or immediate impact on the FBS, the implications of such a decision are significant, layered, complicated and maybe tragic.

While the season probably isn't going to go away Friday, it soon could. Through that board -- mostly presidents and chancellors from all NCAA divisions -- the association has more leverage than ever over major-college football, a sport of which it has largely lost oversight.

The FBS -- particularly the Power Five conferences -- has mostly been autonomous from the NCAA for years. The NCAA doesn't stage an FBS championship. That is controlled by the 130 teams, their conferences, their commissioners, ESPN and the College Football Playoff.

With Friday's vote, the board could win back some of that lost turf while backing the FBS football into a corner.

read more: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ncaa-board-of-governors-vote-could-strike-significant-blow-to-fbs-college-football-being-played-this-fall/

wardly · July 25, 2020

The Power 5 have been looking for a reason to leave NCAA and form their own entity , and the Virus might be the push they need.

meanrob · July 25, 2020

4 hours ago, wardly said:

The Power 5 have been looking for a reason to leave NCAA and form their own entity , and the Virus might be the push they need.

I think we are on year six of your doom and gloom bit.

Leave and do what? You think that if the P5s started over they would agree on anything? That the PAC12 and SEC would be willing to follow the same rules? Or suddenly the BIG10 would acquiesce to anything the Big12 or ACC would want? I'm highly skeptical. And who would run this organization? I can't think of anybody who has the clout and political skills to make everybody happy. The rules are barely followed now, would any rule be followed if the conferences were the ones who enforced the rules? Not a chance.

Is the NCAA a bureaucratic mess? Absolutely. Does it need Emmert gone and massive reform? Yep. But the idea that the P5s could magically make this work by breaking off seems very far fetched to me. In a way it would be a fun, chaos experiment. I think schools like Miami and a variety of SEC schools would do WHATEVER it took to be successful. It'd make the 80s scandals look like Mister Roger's Neighborhood.

wardly · July 25, 2020

It's only year 5, and I am assuming no fall sports in 2020. After that, its anyone's guess as to what will happen in 2021, but if you think everything's going to be wonderful in the neighborhood you might be in for a surprise.

meanrob · July 25, 2020

I'm just preaching status quo until the tv contracts run out and even then I'm skeptical of anything big happening. If anything I think the pandemic keeps things as they are, not sure university presidents are going to go for big changes during uncertain times.

GrandGreen · July 26, 2020

2 hours ago, wardly said:

It's only year 5, and I am assuming no fall sports in 2020. After that, its anyone's guess as to what will happen in 2021, but if you think everything's going to be wonderful in the neighborhood you might be in for a surprise.

What would be any advantages for the P5 to separate? I can't think of any, they already get most of the money and publicity.

wardly · July 26, 2020

They get to keep all the money. In addition, they get to run their own basketball tournament, football playoffs, set their own guidelines,etc. What do they need the NCAA for?

meanrob · July 26, 2020

26 minutes ago, wardly said:

They get to keep all the money. In addition, they get to run their own basketball tournament, football playoffs, set their own guidelines,etc. What do they need the NCAA for?

Help us @Arkstfan-kenobi, you're our only hope!

meangreen11 · July 26, 2020

RBP79 · July 26, 2020

https://www.ksl.com/article/50000517/ncaa-pushes-decision-on-college-football-other-fall-sports-to-august

No news is good.news?

wardly · July 26, 2020

19 hours ago, meanrob said:

Help us @Arkstfan-kenobi, you're our only hope!

OK, but what is to keep the P5 conferences from leaving the NCAA and forming their own organization?. They have most of the money and TV contracts. I don't see what the NCAA does that they couldn't do for themselves under their own banner. It would be like NAIA only much larger.

Edited July 26, 2020 by wardly
finish sentence

meanrob · July 27, 2020

2 hours ago, wardly said:

OK, but what is to keep the P5 conferences from leaving the NCAA and forming their own organization?. They have most of the money and TV contracts. I don't see what the NCAA does that they couldn't do for themselves under their own banner. It would be like NAIA only much larger.

You didn't address any of the issues I pointed out, especially that you think the P5 is one big happy family. It's not.

None of the issues facing college sports (paying players, using players likeness without compensation, cheating, recruiting issues, not having a commissioner with enforcement powers, how to recover from the current situation, and more that I can't think of) go away with creating a new "NCAA." Not to mention the P5 UNIVERSITIES (oh yeah, there's that pesky mission of actually educating students, not running sports organizations) aren't made to do this. Kinda why they have someone else to do it.

P5s already get all the football money, there's no money in all the so-called Olympic sports so the only thing left is basketball. I'm not sure if you split the money the NCAA gets from the tournament and allocate that to the P5 schools (divided by 64+ ways) it's worth the headache of creating a new NCAA.

So far I've given you my reasons why it probably won't happen and all you've said is "Why would't they?" So how about you give me some reasons besides money (and you haven't said how much money that would be) to make me think there is some chance of this happening. I've just never seen anything laid out what the benefits are except it would get rid of the NCAA as we know it.

wardly · July 27, 2020

You are right. I painted the issue with a broad brush based upon the idea that the NCAA brings nothing to the table for P5 programs.They don't have to like each other to work together for a common goal.We will probably get a better idea of the future in 2023 when TV contracts are renewed. At 77 I hope to be alive to see it as well as another round of conference realignment. It should be fun.

VideoEagle · July 27, 2020

2 hours ago, wardly said:

It should be fun.

Yes, every bit as much fun as a colonoscopy.

wardly · July 27, 2020

The IV Valium almost makes it worthwhile.

Arkstfan · August 7, 2020

Late to the game.

Sure they could pack up and leave but it presents anti-trust risk, it eliminates about 290 schools who lose money and can’t afford paying players like pros that can be used in arguing players shouldn’t be paid. It invites Congressional scrutiny as prominent schools get left out and states get left without a top division hoops team.

What I told a friend was if they bolt, I don’t care as long as they leave without AAC and MWC.

Takes off a lot of pressure to keep up with salaries and facilities while turning the heat way way up on them to pay players and if they do they can’t impose salary caps unless there’s a collective bargaining agreement and can’t have a CBA without a union. They’re welcome to have that fun if that’s what they want.

untjim1995 · August 7, 2020

11 hours ago, Arkstfan said:

Late to the game.

Sure they could pack up and leave but it presents anti-trust risk, it eliminates about 290 schools who lose money and can’t afford paying players like pros that can be used in arguing players shouldn’t be paid. It invites Congressional scrutiny as prominent schools get left out and states get left without a top division hoops team.

What I told a friend was if they bolt, I don’t care as long as they leave without AAC and MWC.

Takes off a lot of pressure to keep up with salaries and facilities while turning the heat way way up on them to pay players and if they do they can’t impose salary caps unless there’s a collective bargaining agreement and can’t have a CBA without a union. They’re welcome to have that fun if that’s what they want.

So I’m no lawyer, obviously. But it’s hard for me to see congressional investigations, when these schools that are P5 cover almost every major state in the country. IOW, there is not a state that would lose a P5 school.

This doesn’t even count the fact that these legislatures are covered by grads/fans of said P5s. The $$$ these schools generate from home games is usually huge, too. And this doesn’t take into account the media $$$.

I wish we G5’s could have already tested this all, but I feel like when Utah got into the PAC 12, the last major state with a legitimate Power program and budget gave the P5s cover for their monopoly. And honestly, our G5 programs might get 20-35k for a good game and that just can’t compete with the P5s. It would do college football a world of good for these P5 programs to pull away and just make it all more level and give the G5’s a level to actually earn a national championship. Our programs deserve it.