Earlier this month, Judge Claudia Wilken ordered both sides to mediate their differences over how the college sports business model works or risk a court decision that could leave one, or both, sides unhappy as a legal solution is found for what is essentially the operation of a complex multi-billion dollar business.

Lawyers for both sides met each of the last two Mondays in San Francisco with a mediator, yet little was accomplished and almost nothing substantive was even discussed, the source said. Not surprisingly, the NCAA appears unwilling to bend on its stance of defending amateurism and its current business practices. It has taken a hardline approach throughout this case.

Frustration is rising that further mediation, if it occurs, would be nothing but a waste of time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source--ed-...ncaab.html

And the water gets murkier and murkier. Am I the only person that thinks that results like this could result in the split of the P5 from the NCAA?

No surprise. The NCAA is going to roll the dice; they're not going to negotiate any changes in their play-for-no-pay system. Either they'll win in court, or a court will eventually issue a ruling that makes big changes and has unintended consequences, like the NCAA v. Oklahoma case that ended the NCAA monopoly on TV rights.

I suppose it's theoretically possible that someone could get the P5 together, create a new system that includes athlete compensation, and say adios to the NCAA and all these lawsuits. But I think that's very unlikely because college presidents and boards don't move quickly enough to be proactive, and even when they are willing to move they don't move in the same direction.

Even if they tried to implement a system including athlete compensation, there are so many complications (Title IX, lack of consensus on the amount of pay, lack of consensus on which sports' athletes are paid and which are stuck with the scholarship-only deal) that the magnitude of complications is much greater than the P5 vs. Little Guys issues over NCAA governance and control.

(03-28-2014 05:09 PM)Flying Bearcat Wrote:  And the water gets murkier and murkier. Am I the only person that thinks that results like this could result in the split of the P5 from the NCAA?

Well if the theory is the split from the NCAA so the athletes can get money from the players likeness, then they are basically splitting from an amateur model to a semi-pro model.
Go Eugene Ducks??

(03-28-2014 05:35 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(03-28-2014 05:09 PM)Flying Bearcat Wrote:  And the water gets murkier and murkier. Am I the only person that thinks that results like this could result in the split of the P5 from the NCAA?

Well if the theory is the split from the NCAA so the athletes can get money from the players likeness, then they are basically splitting from an amateur model to a semi-pro model.
Go Eugene Ducks??

I think we end up somewhere just short of the Olympic amateur model. Full cost of attendance, medical care, and a cut of jersey/likeness money.