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Surprised this hasn't emerged on this site yet...

Saw on Twitter that Bowlsby had strong words about NCAA's weaknesses. Said no one wants to break off ("last option") but will if necessary. Predicts a new division will emerge with higher payments to athletes...various levels of compensation.

My thoughts:
1--Wow. A timeline. Interesting development. The major schools need a different set of rules/governance than the rest in these "big money" days.
2--The Big 12--perhaps the most susceptible of all conferences--is eager to announce a dividing line between "us" and "them." Insecurity perhaps?
(07-22-2013 03:16 PM)allthatyoucantleavebehind Wrote: [ -> ]Surprised this hasn't emerged on this site yet...

Saw on Twitter that Bowlsby had strong words about NCAA's weaknesses. Said no one wants to break off ("last option") but will if necessary. Predicts a new division will emerge with higher payments to athletes...various levels of compensation.

My thoughts:
1--Wow. A timeline. Interesting development. The major schools need a different set of rules/governance than the rest in these "big money" days.
2--The Big 12--perhaps the most susceptible of all conferences--is eager to announce a dividing line between "us" and "them." Insecurity perhaps?

This has been mentioned over the rest of the site already.

The Jan timeline is because that is when the NCAA meets. The B12 isn't the first to mention a new division this month. Slive and Swofford both have mentioned a new division or a breakaway if needed.
There's a lot of sabre rattling going on.
Interesting that this topic has been raised in all 3 media days so far. Softening the beach...
Sometimes where there is smoke there is fire.
I am not against paying the players, but have seen past discussions that if they do that the unions are prepared to step in to
represent the players, which could have some very unimagined consequences.
(07-22-2013 03:41 PM)LSUtah Wrote: [ -> ]Interesting that this topic has been raised in all 3 media days so far. Softening the beach...

Exactly. The schools who couldn't come up with $50,000 for stipends in basketball are learning the choice is assimilate or be left behind.
I think this is mostly directed at the bottom of div1. Not really the FBS schools but those that are FCS and those without football. There are a lot of them just jumping on the D1 train for the money and have no intention of putting the investment into their programs.
Does seem to be considerable talk of this at the media days events, although it has seemed likely that a "super conference" with the P5 has been more of a "when" than and "if" question for some time. As I consider the landscape, should this occur there is some minor potential for a handful of G5 teams to move up (maybe 2-4), but beyond a very select group the rest of us better get used to a new reality. It's coming, and there is not a lot that schools below that level can do about it except try to create the best situation possible within the NCAA structure.

That new reality likely includes a landing place for the current G5 schools (minus a SMALL handful of schools who have the capability to play at the P5 level) playing in their own Division -- with a dozen or so strong current FCS schools added to the mix through perhaps one additional conference at the G5 level, with minor bowls being the center piece of a post seasons, much like today...but, perhaps, creating with even their own, FBS championship within a rotating bowl system for G5. The Bowl scenario will likely provide the separation from the current FCS schools who play in Division 1AA, who will continue with their playoff system, but without the bowls.

Well, those of us who hover around this board, probably have something to talk about now with Bowlsby's open discussion.
(07-22-2013 03:44 PM)GoApps70 Wrote: [ -> ]Sometimes where there is smoke there is fire.
I am not against paying the players, but have seen past discussions that if they do that the unions are prepared to step in to
represent the players, which could have some very unimagined consequences.

All the schools have to do is give the stipend under "work-study" and pay the players for practice time. There is no legitimate reason for unions to get involved unless it is categorized as pay for play. The former closes that door.
These commissioners are just verifying what most of us here have already known.

One doesn't need such persons to tell us what is going on but it sure is nice to have verification of what many of us have decided months ago was inevitable.

Why is it inevitable? Money and Power. Those who will be able to keep up will be allowed to keep up while those who can't will have to voluntarily pull themselves out and thus give up any right to a legal battle over the situation.
The p5 want their cake and eat it too. Its ALL an attempt or process toward squeezing out the rest of college football. Consolidating all the money and power in a smaller and smaller group of schools until the rest of college football is starved into poverty. Many schools will stagnate and cut their budgets drastically. In essence fcs football.

G5 schools will no longer be involved in the new playoff system and will have to start their own. Fcs. If their not involved in said playoff then the next question is why should they benefit financially from it. No playoff money. Fcs. How much is television willing to pay g5 shools now and how about when they never play p5 schools.a lot less. Sounds like fcs again.
No playoffs no playoff money less lucrative TV deals no p5 opponents except possible money game a lot less viewers or TV access. Sounds a lot like being in the current fcs. They aren't moving up they are pushing the g5 down.
The American will likely make it through. The Mountain West will likely make it through. I think CUSA will be able to piece together enough schools that will want to be in the new division in order for that conference to be classified in the new division. Below that...who knows how many of the other current FBS conferences will be able to field enough institutions to be in the new division. They will have some that would be willing but those may have to make the tough decision to not move up simply because they do not have enough "friends" to go with them.
(07-22-2013 04:56 PM)cleburneslim Wrote: [ -> ]The p5 want their cake and eat it too. Its ALL an attempt or process toward squeezing out the rest of college football. Consolidating all the money and power in a smaller and smaller group of schools until the rest of college football is starved into poverty. Many schools will stagnate and cut their budgets drastically. In essence fcs football.

G5 schools will no longer be involved in the new playoff system and will have to start their own. Fcs. If their not involved in said playoff then the next question is why should they benefit financially from it. No playoff money. Fcs. How much is television willing to pay g5 shools now and how about when they never play p5 schools.a lot less. Sounds like fcs again.
No playoffs no playoff money less lucrative TV deals no p5 opponents except possible money game a lot less viewers or TV access. Sounds a lot like being in the current fcs. They aren't moving up they are pushing the g5 down.

I'm not saying you are wrong, but remember who is paying the P5 to do this. They are the real masterminds of the money and power grab and they aren't university presidents, they are network people who want the most viewed product for less overall money. They do that by paying fewer a lot more and paying everyone else less. The problem for all schools is that they do not operate cooperatively, but rather as individuals. The growth of conferences may one day facilitate cooperation but right now they are really more of a confederation of haves, rather than ambassadors of all universities and colleges. The net result is typical. They grab theirs and do it without realizing that one day it will be their school on the chopping block and only then will they understand the strength they could have all had if they had only defended one another.
(07-22-2013 05:08 PM)He1nousOne Wrote: [ -> ]The American will likely make it through. The Mountain West will likely make it through. I think CUSA will be able to piece together enough schools that will want to be in the new division in order for that conference to be classified in the new division. Below that...who knows how many of the other current FBS conferences will be able to field enough institutions to be in the new division. They will have some that would be willing but those may have to make the tough decision to not move up simply because they do not have enough "friends" to go with them.

Since they're the perfect example, what about BYU? Just saying, I find it really difficult to believe it's as simple as drawing a line between groups of conferences.
(07-22-2013 05:21 PM)blunderbuss Wrote: [ -> ]
(07-22-2013 05:08 PM)He1nousOne Wrote: [ -> ]The American will likely make it through. The Mountain West will likely make it through. I think CUSA will be able to piece together enough schools that will want to be in the new division in order for that conference to be classified in the new division. Below that...who knows how many of the other current FBS conferences will be able to field enough institutions to be in the new division. They will have some that would be willing but those may have to make the tough decision to not move up simply because they do not have enough "friends" to go with them.

Since they're the perfect example, what about BYU? Just saying, I find it really difficult to believe it's as simple as drawing a line between groups of conferences.

If BYU can cover the costs of belonging to the Super Division then I don't see why they would be included. I don't think there will be able to be a new rule for this superdivision that Independents cannot take part. That right there might be cause for litigation.

This is all complicated I guess. The Major conferences help their members make enough money in order to cover these costs as individual institutions. The borderline conferences problem will be whether or not they can maintain enough institutions to make the move up. At some point in the hierarchy there will be some institutions that cannot do it.

The MAC for example. They may have some of their membership decide they can make it work at the next level and some may decide they simply cant. Now that leaves the membership to decide whether they split from each other or if as a whole they decide to not move up despite the ability of some to do so. If some of those that want to move up decide they are going to do so anyways, they will need to find a home with a conference that is moving up.

That is why I think that the American will make it and the Mountain West will make it. Conference USA may become the border zone lower level of the Super Division that loses some schools to the dividing but in turn gains some schools departing conferences that are deciding to stay down in the current division.

That is where it is going to get ugly.
My two cents: The P5 schools won't get their way because they don't have the votes. The G5 and D-1 non-football schools outnumber them. Their only real leverage is the threat to break away which IMHO is an empty threat. Are they really going to create a new collegiate athletics governance organization completely from scratch? How will they finance it? Yes the P5 schools have the biggest revenues, but also the biggest expenses. Very few are actually generating a surplus on athletics.
I think a lot of people aren't reading the quotes from the commissioners and paying more attention to the panicky headlines and breathless reporter takes.

Could the P5 get pissed and walk sure. But it just isn't likely. They want the governance balance restored they had before the WAC folded and the Big East was one of the big boys and they don't want the hoop schools and FCS undercutting their reforms over paltry sums of money.
Mark Schlabach has a column on this:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...split-ncaa
Quote:At nearly the same time Bowlsby was firing away at the NCAA on Monday, ACC commissioner John Swofford told USA Today that the next six months are "very important" to the future of the NCAA and suggested that drastic changes might be made at the NCAA's annual convention in January.

Last week, SEC commissioner Mike Slive echoed Bowlsby's comments at SEC media days: "We have supported and will continue to support the NCAA as the appropriate governing organization for intercollegiate athletics, but at the same time, however, we will continue to push for changes we believe are in the best interest of our student-athletes."

Expect Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott to make similar remarks at their respective leagues' preseason gatherings later this week.

Bowlsby said commissioners of the big five conferences met about six weeks ago to discuss their concerns. Bowlsby said the commissioners were "unanimous" in their desires for drastic changes to the NCAA structure and said he wasn't "out on a limb" with his scathing remarks on Monday.

. . .

Bowlsby said none of the conference commissioners have suggested entirely breaking away from the NCAA, at least not yet.

"I don't see secession from the NCAA as a viable leverage point, except as a last resort," Bowlsby said.
B12 was left behind in realignment and they dropped the ball not adding Louisville. Now, it is in their best interest to employ nuclear bomb tactics and promote a split because the B12 will be left behind in the current format since they only have 10 and there are no good teams to add.

Texas is behind this. They started all the realignment mess and should have to sleep in the bed they created. Fools pushed A&M to the SEC and now they are panicking.
Some over reacting. The new College Football Playoff was just signed and is actually outside the NCAA. It's exceedingly unlikely that the Group of 5 will lose its status there regardless of what happens meaning the best will be in a CFP bowl and have a chance at one of the playoff bowls.

I think a semi-separate division, if it comes, will mostly be simply recognizing differences that are already there and allowing the power schools a little more flexibility on rules that fit their needs.
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