NCAA: And the Muted Bell Tolls (Dennis Dodd, CBS)

[Christopher Walker]

And here it comes. If all is approved this upcoming Thursday, the organizational structure of the NCAA could be radically different come even as early as August.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/24532563/autonomy-defined-ncaa-boards-agenda-for-change-this-week

If all comes to pass, I'm going to wish victory in Austin even harder. Not that I wouldn't anyway.

Go Mean Green.

[Christopher Walker]

Bump because you all have been alluding to this and now it's actually set to happen.

[UNT90]

Whores

[golfingomez]

why not Indiana?

[UNTFan23]

I thought the 'Murican Conference would be on this elite list of conferences that gets to make all the rules. People keep telling us how awesome this brand new conference is and how it is going places.

[TIgreen01]

Wow. That is a split, plain and simple. 65 teams, 5 conferences, playing by rules they create themselves. It sounds like any institution can choose to implement some of these changes (full cost of living), but there is mention of a legislative process to be granted approval on some of the others (transfer rules, etc) ---and the board doing the legislating is none other than the P5 conferences? Am I reading some of this right?

I don't see how the G5 conferences are going to let this slide without suing.....or are we all scrambling in the face of the various lawsuits that all look to have at least some chance of going against the universities? Sure seems like holding onto that season ticket renewal form another couple of weeks would be prudent.

Edited April 21, 2014 by TIgreen01

[UNT90]

The little guys will keep taking their million dollar ass lickings and keep their little mouth shut like they have all along, unfortunately.

The only intent of this is to ensure no more little guys have a chance to be a big guy, plain and simple. A class action anti-trust suit should be filed against the NCAA as soon as this is inevitably the law of the NCAA land.

But it won't be.

Edited April 21, 2014 by UNT90

[Green Otaku]

Maybe it's just me but I feel like the P5 conferences don't want to keep losing that edge that they have over the rest of us. Back when NT made a run in the 70's it was possible to build up a program, once the BCS was instated there was a clear divide which gave a big recruiting advantage/money advantage to the BCS programs. They basically ended the chance for other schools to ever reach them, but slowly the non-BCS schools fought and gained access. At the same time the non-BCS ranks grew adding in more teams, what are we up to now? 125 teams in FBS? So now the only choice wasn't to go be a walk on at Indiana or Arizona, recruits had more options and full ride opportunities. How many great to solid recruits are stolen randomly to non-P5 conferences every year? I hear of teams stealing players from schools regularly. How much of a difference today is a solid G5 school to say an Indiana? or a Wake Forest?

If things continue to go this way we will further water down the advantage the P5 schools have and they know it. They are attempting to raise the bar again.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Green Otaku

[DeepGreen]

Make them pay out the ass when they try to schedule a "lowly G5" team. P5, plus the usual additions like Notre Dame, BYU, etc., will be making all the money. They want to schedule us, I say blackmail the sumbitches! $3+ million per game!

[Caw Caw]

The word circle jerk comes to mind... Clearly this isn't about the interest of students, or DI football.

[outoftown]

oh so many thoughts.

1) wow did the AAC/big east get left behind. No different from C-USA really.

2) if the P% get autonomy for these rules, can G5 schools then also implement those rules at their places. I mean many will not have the money, but there is still a big difference between the finances of institutions like SMU then somewhat behind UNT and then much further behind ULM and what they would like to like those others.

3) Somebody mentioned the G5 should sue. This is an honest question, I am no lawyer: on what grounds? Does that have a chance?

4) It does not talk about money distribution and bowls. How will that work?

[outoftown]

Make them pay out the ass when they try to schedule a "lowly G5" team. P5, plus the usual additions like Notre Dame, BYU, etc., will be making all the money. They want to schedule us, I say blackmail the sumbitches! $3+ million per game!

If they effectively split, are they still allowed to schedule more than one non P5 team? Because losing seasons are a tough financial thing for oh so many programs

[Mean Green 93-98]

I'm not sure why everyone keeps bringing up the AAC in this discussion. No, they are not a P5 conference, and no one with any sense thought they would be once the Catholic schools split off. In this particular discussion, it is true, the AAC is no better than C-USA. The same could be said for C-USA vs. the Belt. But there remains a clear hierarchy in fan support, public perception, money, and quality of athletics:

AAC >>>>C-USA>Belt

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I kinda liked the idea of not letting them play us at all.

[UNT90]

Make them pay out the ass when they try to schedule a "lowly G5" team. P5, plus the usual additions like Notre Dame, BYU, etc., will be making all the money. They want to schedule us, I say blackmail the sumbitches! $3+ million per game!

No...

[Harry]

I'm not sure we really in truly know what this means and how it will impact us. If it is simply a means to get better representation for the p5 in key legislative issues so be it. I do not think they are looking to part ways with the rest of us.

They are not going to take us out -- it would not be in their best interest to do so. The lower tier p5 teams need us to pad their schedules with wins and bowl wins.

I do think that the days of doing sports on the cheap is going by the wayside.

For instance, if they voted in to pay a 2K stipend to their football players would C-USA follow suit? That is what is interesting to me...

[ragpicker]

This is semi-pro farm team football, folks, and I say to hell with it.

[UNTFan23]

I'm not sure we really in truly know what this means and how it will impact us. If it is simply a means to get better representation for the p5 in key legislative issues so be it. I do not think they are looking to part ways with the rest of us.

They are not going to take us out -- it would not be in their best interest to do so. The lower tier p5 teams need us to pad their schedules with wins and bowl wins.

I do think that the days of doing sports on the cheap is going by the wayside.

For instance, if they voted in to pay a 2K stipend to their football players would C-USA follow suit? That is what is interesting to me...

Title 9 gets in the way of paying just FB players a stipend. If we're going to treat male and female athletes the same, all athletes under scholarship (and walk-ons?) should be paid a stipend.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Title 9 gets in the way of paying just FB players a stipend. If we're going to treat male and female athletes the same, all athletes under scholarship (and walk-ons?) should be paid a stipend.

But remember . . . the whole argument is that colleges (and others) are making hundreds of millions of dollars off the backs of college athletes. It seems this push for paying players involves an endless cycle of contradiction.

[ragpicker]

But remember . . . the whole argument is that colleges (and others) are making hundreds of millions of dollars off the backs of college athletes. It seems this push for paying players involves an endless cycle of contradiction.

I agree. This thing is so out of control that it is bound to implode some day. When that happens perhaps we can get back to real college athletics with real students with a real line of demarcation between the pros and college. The players may not be quite as big and fast but at least college athletics will not be a lie and Jerry Jones and others can form their own minor league farm teams and stop contaminating college athletics. I know, I know, not likely, but we can dream, can't we?

[UNT90]

I'm not sure we really in truly know what this means and how it will impact us. If it is simply a means to get better representation for the p5 in key legislative issues so be it. I do not think they are looking to part ways with the rest of us.

They are not going to take us out -- it would not be in their best interest to do so. The lower tier p5 teams need us to pad their schedules with wins and bowl wins.

I do think that the days of doing sports on the cheap is going by the wayside.

For instance, if they voted in to pay a 2K stipend to their football players would C-USA follow suit? That is what is interesting to me...

No, it's to eliminate competition. It's to ensure that no one outside the P5 gets inside the P5. It's to make sure they have a ANOTHER built in advantage in recruiting. It's so they can pay us 1 million and know for certain they will beat our ass.

It's about collusion in the marketplace to eliminate any competition.

[TIgreen01]

No, it's to eliminate competition. It's to ensure that no one outside the P5 gets inside the P5. It's to make sure they have a ANOTHER built in advantage in recruiting. It's so they can pay us 1 million and know for certain they will beat our ass.

It's about collusion in the marketplace to eliminate any competition.

No, it's not. It's all about legal posturing to avoid the multitude of lawsuits that threaten the cash cow. The only problem is that it sure looks like this leaves the G5 schools open to those lawsuits, while protecting the P5. Maybe they are strategizing that most of the money is controlled by the P5 and by protecting them it will deal a blow to those who want to sue for the rights to some of that money??

[untjim1995]

The most interesting aspect to me about all of this is how a school like SMU is going to handle this. I wonder if they will keep football as it is, or move down a peg or two to FCS or Division III, or just quit altogether. They draw flies now, with a good coach in a league full of teams we would die to play each week in conference play. Whats it gonna look like when the AAC is a glorified FCS league? They cannot buy their way in, no matter what they say or think.

At UNT, we've been used to playing the left-behinds of college football for decades. Its nothing new to us if we have to play a game against Middle Tennessee and its at a lower level. Neither of us are ever going to get included upward to the P5. But a team like SMU, with all its history and money, will have to lower its pride even further when this happens. Its been tougher than anyone couldve imagined on the Hilltop just by getting left behind in their SWC days. Imagine what it feel like if they aren't even considered Division 1 anymore?

[the green rokemi]

What's that phrase? He who has the gold makes the rules...?

[golfingomez]

What's that phrase? He who has the gold makes the rules...?

ahh.. yes...

i believe the phrase you are looking for is

'A watched pot never boils'