Looks like the FBS/FCS split may be getting a new level. And I can’t imagine that will be good news for Miami.
NCAA President Charlie Baker on Tuesday sent a letter to Division I members proposing the creation of a new competitive subdivision whose schools would be required to provide significantly greater compensation for their athletes than current association rules allow.
Under Baker’s plan, “within the framework” of Title IX, the federal gender-equity law, schools in this new group would have to “invest at least $30,000 per year into an enhanced educational trust fund for at least half of the institution’s eligible student-athletes.”
Baker’s proposal also involves the schools in the new group committing to work together to “create rules that may differ from the rules in place for the rest of Division I. Those rules could include a wide range of policies, such as scholarship commitment and roster size, recruitment, transfers or” policies connected to athletes’ activities making money from their name, image and likeness (NIL).
Interesting the USA Today article left out what seems to be some key information about that investment amount required. Assumption would be that’s per athlete…
The Athletic’s article added some more context:
The formation of a new subdivision made up of institutions with the highest resources that can directly compensate athletes through an “enhanced educational trust fund,” which requires the schools that opt into it an investment of at least $30,000 per year per athlete for at least half of the school’s eligible athletes. Schools would have to adhere to Title IX, providing equal monetary opportunities to both female and male athletes.
I guess I am not sure the impact on Miami yet. Will the networks want to televise the teams that dont make the top 48? Will there be a new playoff for this FBS no trust fund?
I actually think it would be more devastating to basketball than football
Agree wholeheartedly on the basketball comment. If this is the direction we are moving, then we need dedicated conferences for all other sports and then let football do its own thing.
This looks like it would apply to all sports, including basketball so March Madness as we know it is in jeopardy. I would be most disappointed in that. I can live with the Power 5 separating, that was inevitable. But to have that separation in all sports would be disappointing.
Many of us have talked about this for quite some time. I started bringing it up 5 years ago, that eventually the P5 would break away and form their own league leaving the G5 behind. I think that moment is rapidly approaching. The “Great Split”.
Maybe G5 schools (if they can afford it) could benefit?
For example,
OSU - funds all athletes at 75k
Rutgers/Purdue/Indiana funds 50% at 40k
Tulane/Miami/Boise (or other similar G5 team) funds 50% at 30k base
There will be some players possibly choosing Miami/Tulane/Boise to get the pay check if they were not going to get the paycheck at IU/Purdue.
Either way, the behemoths like OSU/MICH/GA/ALA/USC will likely be far separated from their lower tiered members within their own conferences.
They won’t mess with March Madness it’s to successful we will have our guys will just play semi pro teams they would be so dumb to mess with that formula in favor of an NBA esque system of three five or seven game series people complain about the NBA playoffs all the time for not being that competitive
March Madness is successful for the NCAA. It’s how they fund a lot of their activities, especially paying for championship events for most other sports (I think FCS football, baseball, hockey and maybe some others do break even). It’s reasonable to think at some point the P5 might take a look at that and see if they can capture more money through their own event. That could be devastating for the NCAA
If/when P5 splits this will surely happen. P5 conferences are already looking into how they split their MMR (FB / BB, etc.) to drive incremental value. Yormack at B12 looks like he may be first but Phillips at ACC will follow quickly to survive the impending flight from his conf.
Then the event they come up would die a slow painful death. The NBA playoffs aren’t something you want to emulate. 7 game series ending in sweeps and blow out no no thanks I’ll just watch the NBA.
We are already and have for a long time been in a situation where Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama,Georgia, and others get all the top talent, then the other power 5 teams get the next layer, then the G5 teams, then the FCS teams. Nothing being proposed is really going to change that.
For as long as I can remember the MAC has been able to pull off on the average 3 to 5 wins over power conference teams per year. The gap between us never seems to change much. I see the MAC being in roughly the same situation as always. Those teams will still want to schedule us for extra home games and revenue and sometimes we will beat them. We have never had much success against the elite power conference teams, but often can knock off the bottom half of those conferences. It will still be that way.