When It Comes To FBS Football, College Presidents Should Realize There Is More Than One Right Move

College football is back in full swing. The 2022 media days commenced with the usual commentary from players, coaches, and athletic directors. Coaches expressed optimism/frustration with the toughness of their schedules and an athlete’s unfettered freedom to transfer, and the Big Ten and Pac-12 commissioners painted a rosy picture of unity and togetherness. As media days go, it was typical— overly optimistic projections for the season ahead, a conference’s relevance to the post-season landscape, and the national polls were all discussed.

Notably absent from the gathering were the university Presidents, despite the fact they were the ones who acceded to the decisions made this past year. One could argue that they should have been there to answer a few fundamental questions on behalf of their institutions.

In reality, outside a few interviews with local press, the leaders from USC, UCLA, Texas and Oklahoma who have dropped such drama on college football don’t have to publicly acknowledge that what they are doing is what’s best for their institution, and with little to no regard for other schools, even in their own conferences.

This is what presidents were hired to do. And without a national framework filled with legal guardrails, revenue sharing with other conferences, and a general sense of putting the collegiate game ahead of individual successes, they will continue to do just that. Unlike the NFL, there is no collective “we” in college sports.

‘We’re Going to End Up with 3.5 Conferences’

With UCLA and USC joining the Big Ten in 2024, and Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC in 2025, the Great Realignment is nearly complete. As Patrick Crakes, former Fox Sports senior executive, told the News-Observer, “we’re going to end up with like 3.5 conferences in the end. We know who two of them are. The question is, what will happen with everything else?”.

Along with their colleagues in the Pac-12, the Presidents in the ACC and Big 12 are rightfully worried. What does this mean for their television deals when their contracts are up for renewal? Already they are millions behind the SEC and the Big Ten; going forward, Fox and ESPN have clearly indicated the size of the media market a university inhabits matters. Unlike the NFL, there is no grand collaboration to share the wealth, and colleges can’t just pick up and move to a new city. Still, many coaches, athletic directors and commissioners believe that Congress will help them “level the playing field”, freeing them from making the hard choices.

‘Congress is Like a Dinosaur’

Robert Gates, the former President at Texas A&M and U.S. Secretary of Defense, shared with an audience of athletic directors last month a reality check that presidents should digest:

“Congress is like a dinosaur- it has a tiny brain and no fine motor skills. It doesn’t do anything subtly or with nuance…I recognize the desirability on the part of a lot of people to have ‘uniform uniformity’ across the country, but I think that opportunity has come and gone.”

Gates continued, telling the audience, “the problem with going to Congress is they may give you some of what you want- but my experience is they’ll give you a lot (of what) you don’t want”.

For those who continue to wish and hope for the old days of pre-Alston, it’s time to wake up. Leaders at all 350 schools need to be honest with their board and their alumni about what their future holds.

Gates, who was hired to organize Division I’s ‘Transformation’ work, brings a unique and important perspective to this conversation. He’s been a two-time Division I president (also at the helm of the College of William and Mary), and he’s had to manage and lead a very large Government organization.

DI as a Status Symbol

Division I membership has long been considered a valuable credential in a President’s portfolio. Along with Research I (R1) and Association of American Universities (AAU) imprimatur, DI membership has grown to become a symbol to the public at large that the institution is rising in stature. Remember the excitement of getting ‘on the ticker’ at the bottom of an ESPN broadcast? It used to signal relevance to your fans and boosters.

College football has changed that calculation. The Playoff may likely expand to 12 teams who are chosen by national ranking alone (and not by automatic qualifier via one of 10 FBS Conference champions). There will likely be no ‘Cinderellas’ in the post-season. With ESPN and Fox owning most of the desirable sports properties, what teams do you think they will spend the most time promoting?

If, as expected, each Big Ten member receives $100 million annually from their media rights alone (as is projected by some), how can the rest of FBS football keep up? NIL payments alone won’t do it for many teams, and with the transfer portal lacking any kind of restrictions, it’s unlikely a good player will stay very long.

Near the end of his hour-long talk, Gates spoke candidly. “On the whole, collegiate sports needs to be honest about how we’re trying to figure this out. We don’t quite know exactly what the right thing is. There may be more than one right thing depending on which Division you’re in, what level of University you have, or whether you’re in a Junior college or a Community college or Division I… maybe one size doesn’t fit all.”

Presidents must have realistic conversations with their Boards about what the future holds. Being in debt up to your ears while trying to keep pace is a losing strategy. The bulk of the attention and media revenues is gravitating towards the SEC, the Big Ten and a handful of other successful programs. This emerging era requires a new strategy and innovative leadership. There is more than one right move; finding what it is for each institution will be the ultimate challenge.