INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA board of directors has overwhelmingly approved a sweeping package plan that will give the five biggest conferences the ability to create their some of their own rules.

If the legislation approved Thursday withstands an override attempt, the five wealthiest Division I conferences could start exercising their new autonomy as early as Oct. 1.

The SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 will have the ability to implement some rules on their own, though probably not policies on rules violations. But a stipend for athletes that goes beyond currently allowed limits of tuition, room and board, books and fees, seems likely.

Commissioners and school leaders from the power conferences have until Oct. 1 to create a wish list of issues they want to handle on their own.

49% of the Power 5 coaches are in favor of scheduling only Power 5 opponents. This will ruin college football, as we know it.

I don't really know how to take this. Is this a chance the MAC and other conferences really get to build their programs, or does it mean the big 5 will have real serious talent sitting on the bench because they can come and be paid.

These big 5 are largely state schools. If they have such a money maker, why aren't they required to give back to the state to upgrade poor school systems, roads, etc..?

ESPN claims the NCAA is dead. Does the scholarship limit of 85 go out too?

This is nuts.

to CFB.

One of the biggest problems for conferences like the MAC are changes in transfer rules. Some big schools want transfers immediately eligible. So if I'm Purdue and having problems with my offensive line, I could scoop up some All-MAC kid from Ohio to fill my needs. And pay him a bunch of money. Basically the MAC becomes a minor league feeder system.

The joys of knocking off teams from the Big Money conferences will be over within a few short years. The disparity in talent will be too great. There will be no point in even playing them, which is what they want anyway.

I imagine kids who want to play and earn some visibility for NFL recruiting will still pick non-Power 5 schools. They're not going to get an opportunity to show what they can do sitting on the bench at a P5 school. Also, academic requirements at some P5 schools could turn some away--that is unless they bully the NCAA into dropping academic requirements for P5 schools.

There should be an anti-trust lawsuit.

The NCAA is a whore.

I didn't think I could get any more irritated by the NCAA, but they have managed to do just that. This in my opinion will destroy college sports. The next thing you know these "power" conferences will want ALL other schools to eliminate football so that they are the only ones playing. I don't get where this arrogance and sense of entitlement comes from. There HAS to be something that can be done to stop them. I think maybe it's time for the government to step in and put a stop to this bull****.

State governments are in charge of the state money. They could stop this anti-trust endeavor. The MAC, Conference USA, Sun Belt, AAC can not stop it and the NCAA won't, but elected officials that govern areas of states with vested interest in non-big five conferences should be making some serious noise. How many underprivileged kids will lose opportunity because of this greedy move to monopolize college football money. We need to write our congress representatives now. We wait, it could be over.

Don't expect the mob in Columbus to do anything about it. Look what happened when the Rockets played down there last.

The NCAA is getting pushed around by the big boys. Shocker!

Disgusting. College football as I have come to love, has been ruined by greed.