The realignments that have recently unfolded in college football were clearly and somewhat painfully illustrated by the conference commissioners’ panel at last week’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum (IAF), presented by SportsBusiness Daily/Global/Journal.
A recurring question that arose at last week’s IAF involved whether the top 60 or 70 schools in college football would eventually separate from the NCAA and form a new governing body or possibly seek to establish their own division within the NCAA. The growing chasm building between a few conferences and the rest of Division I athletics was driven home at the panel, Conference Commissioners: Intercollegiate Athletics Change Agents.
The impact of realignment was abundantly clear. The top tier was represented by Jim Delany, commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, which recently added Rutgers and the University of Maryland, and Mike Slive, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, which has added University of Missouri and Texas A&M. At the other end of the realignment equation was Mike Aresco, commissioner of the Big East, which has seen defections by West Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers and Notre Dame.
Slive said there certainly needs to be an umbrella organization, which brings the value of national championships, legislation, infractions, compliance and adherence.
“The issue, at least from my seat, is whether or not in certain areas we can be adequately accommodated for those issues that we believe are good for us and oftentimes good for student-athletes,” Slive said. “I would hope first and foremost the NCAA allows us to do the kinds of things we believe are good for student-athletes because we might have the resources to do them.
“How that accommodation is made will be discussed. It can be debated, but at some point, I think it’s going to be very important that Dr. Emmert can be able to find a way to accommodate us in those areas.”
A significant accommodation would involve the full cost of attendance, which would give student-athletes the actual cost of attending in the form of an annual stipend of up to $2,000.
