NCAA Plan to Break Up Division 1?

[valpopal]

According to news reports, NCAA President Charlie Baker has sent a letter to all D-1 universities suggesting a new "division" of athletics that would require payment of at least $30,000 per athlete in major sports.

"In a letter sent Tuesday to Division I members, NCAA President Charlie Baker suggested a new 'subdivision' be created for institutions with the 'highest resources.' Those schools would be required to invest a minimum of $30,000 annually into an educational trust for each of at least half of their student-athletes. The average total cost per school is estimated to be around $6 million...."

"The latest plan, which would allow subdivision participants to create their own rules regarding roster size, recruitment or NIL, comes amid speculation that the Power Five conferences might seek to separate from the NCAA. Those conferences are seen as the most competitive in Division I athletics."

[VULB#62]

Let's call it what it is. Charlie (I'm from Mass so I can call him by his first name) is laying the groundwork for the new NCAA DI to be the licensed (and therefore financial partner wink, wink, wink ) of the NFL/NBA sports complex.

Ya know, as this s*** continues, maybe we should just go DIII and be done with it. It really sucks.

[valpotx]

I mean, I get it.  At some point, there has to be a limit on the amount of schools that are at the top level.  It increases just about every year now.  As much as I don't like a potential breakaway, we've gone from around 315 D-1 schools when I was playing 20 years ago, to 363 in 2023. 

[valpo64]

The mid-major conferences and schools need to get together and do their own thing.  Set up reasonable limits on dollars and let's go.  Who needs the big guys spending all the money their squander out of the general public to pay players who are professional in my book and then build expensive palaces to play in in order to spend the un-godly amount of money they make. It is getting to be a joke as it will be the end of the "student/athlete" definition, if it isn't already.  Let's get back to the game where there really are student/athletes who  want a college degree and love to compete on a more level playing field or court.  Just check out what Butler charges for their men's basketball tickets to see how prices are getting way out of hand.

[historyman]

Just check out what Butler charges for their men's basketball tickets to see how prices are getting way out of hand.

Third in the Big East and recently knocked off Penn State. Valpo is at $20 some per ticket what should Butler be at? I really can't believe I'm defending the Butler Athletic Dept but they are steps ahead of Valpo at this time. They are playing Cal Saturday noon (9:00 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Central) I bet some of you will tune into the game.


EDIT: $75 per seat for Saturday against Cal in the 300 level, top section. $50 for some corner 200 level seats. They have truly staggered the pricing much more than they used to.

[covufan]

I mean, I get it.  At some point, there has to be a limit on the amount of schools that are at the top level.  It increases just about every year now.  As much as I don't like a potential breakaway, we've gone from around 315 D-1 schools when I was playing 20 years ago, to 363 in 2023. 

And 133 vice 115 in FBS football in 20 years.  And of that 363, only 261 have football. 

[vu84v2]

The NCAA threads a needle on trying to appease and maximize returns for the large schools while maintaining its status as a non-profit and avoiding anti-trust lawsuits. If the NCAA tries to create a higher tier, including creating one by having a set aside per athlete per year, the remaining schools will go to court - legal proceedings that could ultimately cost the major universities billions in taxes. And the medium and smaller sized schools will be very motivated to seek legal recourse, since most have spent large sums to build new facilities, etc.

[historyman]

And the medium and smaller sized schools will be very motivated to seek legal recourse, since most have spent large sums to build new facilities, etc.

The greatest push in the direction of the medium & smaller sized schools seeking legal recourse is the financial strain that the pandemic blind sided these schools with in 2020. Without that financial situation I don't think you would see those schools go to a legal recourse. Reminder, they are basically suing themselves as they are member schools of the NCAA.

[vu84v2]

And the medium and smaller sized schools will be very motivated to seek legal recourse, since most have spent large sums to build new facilities, etc.

The greatest push in the direction of the medium & smaller sized schools seeking legal recourse is the financial strain that the pandemic blind sided these schools with in 2020. Without that financial situation I don't think you would see those schools go to a legal recourse. Reminder, they are basically suing themselves as they are member schools of the NCAA.

A split in which the medium and small sized schools are left behind would cause them to lose millions in tangible revenues (TV revenue, NCAA tournament) and perhaps more in intangible resources (loss of reputation by not playing top tier sports). Their argument would be that a huge fee (having to put aside $30K per year per athlete) would be an excessive barrier that restricts (business) competition.

[David81]

I don't have a very good feeling about this proposal for all D1 schools outside of the charmed circle. I think the fallout for basketball mid-majors with big time aspirations would be very harsh, with some mid-majors spending boatloads of money trying to join the club, only to fall short.

The possible long term benefit could be that everyone else who decides it's not worth trying to play that game rediscovers a spirit of healthy and sane amateurism for their collegiate sports programs.

As a Bay State resident, I'll just say that I'm hardly surprised that Charlie Baker would be pushing for something like this.

(Added note about Baker: I'm not making a political point, but rather a social class one. Charlie is an upper crust kinda guy. It makes sense that he'd be about bolstering the top end of D1, even if it's very harmful to the other schools.)

[SG]

IMHO, Power 5 should be separated from the NCAA. It is and should be treated like AAA baseball.  And honestly, the power 5 conferences should give the boot to programs that are terrible.  The 60-70 teams that are in this special division can pay players all they want. Then, the NCAA can save face and regulate the remaining NCAA teams accordingly.   Also, this should have zero impact on other sports.  So, if Vandy football is given the boot, they can still participate in the SEC with basketball and baseball etc.