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The University League (grab a cold one before opening...)
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micahandme Offline
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The University League (grab a cold one before opening...)
Eleven years ago I proposed a Super 6 Conference layout that broke off the 6 conferences of the time in a 12-teams-per-conference structure. This was right after the Big 10 and Pac-10 went to 12 teams, but before the SEC jumped to 14. The powers were consolidating, and it appeared as if the Big East might survive the shift.

What is clear now though was also clear then. There is a significant gap between the haves and the have nots.

Back then, players didn’t get more than room and board (they now get “cost of living” stipends), they couldn’t transfer without sitting out a year (and there wasn’t a “portal”), and they certainly couldn’t get endorsement money through NIL deals. The NCAA’s power took major blows ten years ago, but it’s now on its death bed.

Now, more than ever, a breakaway of the major revenue sports of men’s football and men’s basketball needs to happen. That’s obvious. But how would it come to fruition? I’ll outline below a governance structure and then a league format for what I’ll call the University League. (And I’ll be talking mostly about the football side.)

From the Top Down
First the governance structure. The boring part. But the necessary part to see this thing take wing.

The Power 5 conferences need to keep the power. But they also need a commissioner who can oversee them all. In a breakaway scenario, they can finally cede some of their power because the commish will be looking out for the 80 or so of them and not for the many hundreds that the NCAA president currently oversees.

But here’s where my proposal gets good. All decisions must pass all three branches of governance. The commish is just one vote.

The Power 5 commissioners make up the leadership board. They get a vote, so if 3 commissioners want to vote against the commish (3-2 majority), they can overrule him.

But wait, there’s more. The 80 or so members of the University League also get a vote. If 2/3 of the membership votes against the leadership board and the commish, they can block a proposal. Why do you need this? Well, let’s say the Big 12, Pac-12, and Big Ten (their 3 leadership board votes would win the board 3-2) agree to a proposal that the commish likes. But the SEC’s 16 teams and the ACC’s 15 teams don’t approve, they can block it by not giving a 2/3 majority of membership votes.

This might seem cumbersome, but it would be necessary to convince the conferences to cede their power to a higher authority.

“I heard we were going to have four 16-team super conferences?”
Another favorite riddle when it comes to breakaway scenarios is the conference membership problem. Is it 4x16 that’s the perfect combo? Or 4x20? Or 5x20? And what do we do about that stubbornly independent Notre Dame?

If you think outside the box though, you emphasize conference membership with the breakaway but not require it. Here’s how.

A New Class of University League Independents
For both basketball and football, you allow for a certain number of independents who can apply yearly for five-year membership period.

If you’re in a conference, you’re set. You’re in. And that’s a huge stabilizing factor for those schools. But if you’re not in a conference, you’re not left out in the cold. If you’re valuable enough, you’re admitted. If your value wanes, you could be let go after five years.

Why should we trust the “conference schools” to allow independents into the club? Simple. If they make money for them all, they’re in. If not, sorry pal, you’re stuck in the NCAA.

Take Notre Dame. The SEC and Pac-12 really don’t want to “force” Notre Dame into a football conference because that means more money for the Big Ten or ACC. But those conference like the money that Notre Dame might bring to their TV contract and playoff menu.

And in the “three branches of government” model laid out, no one really wants to encourage another conference to become larger and to garner more power. So, for example, if Boise State can find its own way into the Power 5 football and Memphis can find its own way into Power 5 basketball, it behooves the other conferences not to encourage the Big 12 to augment itself by admitting either.

Unless the conference wants to. That flexibility still remains for each conference since we’re not striving for a perfectly symmetrical conference layout. 20 SEC teams and just 12 Pac-12 teams? No problem. Conferences want that autonomy to choose, and they can keep it.

The one rule straight out of the gate: everybody must play 10 other University League opponents. Those independents will need to play the big boys. And if a conference wants to stay at eight conference games, fine. But you need to schedule at least two other University League teams. With 12 total games though, there will still be room for Mercer and Austin Peay on Nick Saban’s schedule.

How Many Teams Will Breakaway?
I keep saying “80 or so” teams. The University League can have as few or as many teams as it finds financially viable among schools that can and will play by their elite rules.

If they only want 6 football independents among them (let’s say Notre Dame, Boise State, Memphis, San Diego State, USF, and SMU), that’s fine. Membership can sit at 75. If they want 10 more, great. Only 1? So be it.

You’re rolling the dice if you’re not in a conference though, so everyone (except the Irish) will want to be in a P5 conference.

And if anyone wants to hold out hope for a symmetrical division layout, don’t. The conferences hold all the cards in college football. And forevermore they will. Forcing San Diego State into the Pac-12 for football or Gonzaga for basketball is a non-starter.

What about the post-season?
Conference championship games are not going away. Conferences love those individual payouts. And since conferences are still largely autonomous, they can remain. Heck, if the SEC wants a two-round playoff for themselves before the University League playoff, go for it.

Which brings us to the playoff. I think the 12-team playoff format which was proposed last summer will eventually win the day as well. There was room in that proposal for both auto qualifying champs and at-large bids. And since the conference commissioners and conference teams hold most of the power to tip the scales in their favor, they’ll give the “independents” access, but just enough.

And bowls…well, they were about to be put further in flux with the new playoff proposal, so who knows where they’d end up? There’d probably remain a place for good teams to face off in an extra post-season game outside the playoff format. Bowls are just plain fun for most of us.

The most fascinating possibility though would involve relegation type situations. Imagine a 11-2 NCAA conference champ pitted against a 6-6 University League independent school? The NCAA team builds its brand with a win and then applies for University League status the next year, while the losing University League independent watches its stock slip…maybe out of the upper echelon when it’s five-year window is up. I’m down for that bowl game.

What about basketball?
I see room for far more basketball independents than football independents. A good portion of the Big East would probably be desirable for the University League. And don’t forget powerhouse Gonzaga! Toss Wichita State, VCU, and Dayton in the equation and you’re looking at well over 80 teams.

And the regular season and conference tournament structure doesn’t even really need to change for basketball. University League teams can schedule NCAA teams in the same way that Power 5 teams schedule mid-majors right now.

The only real question is March Madness.

Do you keep it at 64 with only about 20 teams lopped off? You could make a case for that because it would still feature inter-conference play.

Do you reduce it to 32 to make the field a little more select? Would the public be turned off by a big-name team with a 12-17 record making the field? That’s not the kind of Cinderella we’re used to.

Whatever the case may be, there will be no Cinderellas crashing from outside the University League. The big-name teams will want to win their tournament. That will make opening weekend worse for it. But by the Final Four, no one will miss the little NCAA teams. (Wasn’t that UNC, Duke, Villanova, and Kansas semi-final a blast last year?)
06-25-2022 07:13 PM
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micahandme Offline
2nd String
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Posts: 301
Joined: May 2017
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I Root For: PSU
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Post: #2
RE: The University League (grab a cold one before opening...)
One other caveat...I'm aiming for "realism" in my plan. Not idealism. This isn't what "should" happen to re-invent the sport like Bill Connelly's attempt five years ago https://www.sbnation.com/a/college-footb...-expansion
...this is what "might" happen within the realm of all the quirks and brokenness of the sport in its current state.
06-25-2022 07:20 PM
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