Do We Need Two College Sports Commissions?
If you’re lost, you’re not alone. There’s been a whole lot of sound and fury in college sports of late, signifying very little if not all the way to nothing. Much of the loudest S&F has revolved around the idea of a college sports commission. For what problem cannot be solved by creating a commission? Can we get DOGE in here?
If you’re anything like me, then the thing you find the most confusing is that there are actually two college sports commissions on the table. Or there was until very recently, when the White House retracted theirs.
Before that was ever proposed, though, there was already a college sports commission tied to the House settlement. That’s the long-awaited conclusion to a years-long antitrust case against the NCAA, which has effectively upended amateurism in college sports. The money is flowing. Part of what the House settlement is meant to do is bring some order to all this. But the settlement isn’t final yet, and may still change before it’s approved — if it’s approved — by a district judge.
By the way, we interviewed the lead attorney on that case last year! As well as the lead plaintiff, and dozens of other people, from Jay Bilas to Bubba Cunningham to Damon Stoudamire. And it’s still worth a listen, so go check it out if you haven’t:
As things stand today, the terms of that settlement are set to take effect on July 1. The headliner item that that would codify is a budget of $20.5M for each Power Five school to distribute among its athletes. As in directly. Schools paying athletes. Pay-for-play! Once a forbidden curse, only to be whispered; soon, in all likelihood, the law of the land. Oh, how times have changed.
Basically, the Power Five conferences, who are holding all the cards here, created their own commission in April to enforce the terms of the settlement whenever it went through.
Which is a fancy way of saying this new commission would be taking over for the NCAA as the hall monitors of college sports. Which is really a fancy way of saying that the Power Five conferences are looking to get the NCAA fully out of their business and make their own administrative body to govern themselves.
We’ve been trending that way for the last few years now, if not decades, but this must look like an opportunity for ending the situationship. Since the need to pay athletes is not exactly great news for all these programs that have been trying forever to avoid this, they’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation. Never let a good crisis go to waste, right? Make lemonade. That kind of thing.
Now. Back to the other house. The White House! That one. Yeah, so… a few weeks ago, they announced a second commission. Or, more precisely, they announced their intention to announce one soon. It was not immediately clear what this commission was meant to do, as opposed to the commission that already existed, much less the legislation that remains in talks in Congress. All we really knew was that it would be co-chaired by former Alabama coach Nick Saban, and it would “fix” college sports.
Light on details, which is how it will remain, perhaps for all time. So pour some out for CSC #2, because it’s DOA as of last week. The White House doubled back and said they weren’t wading in after all. Saban’s other co-chair, a big-time Texas A&M booster named Cody Campbell, rubbed the Big Ten and SEC the wrong way, apparently. The richest conferences didn’t like his ideas to spread the wealth. Which isn’t very generous of them, is it?
The thing is, while I largely disagree with the White House strolling in here without much of a plan, and while I can’t co-sign the indecision on display here, I’m at least a little sympathetic to Campbell’s perspective. He was skeptical of the Big Ten and SEC narrowing the tent strictly around their concerns, and I get that. That’s basically been the NCAA’s take on this.
The problem is, the NCAA has already lost the reins to those two conferences, and now so has Campbell. I expect it will probably stay in the hands of those conferences. Again, they’re holding the cards right now. What they have already done, and will continue to do, is build their own kingdom of Top 25 football and play everyone else when they have to.
You hear the term ‘haves and have-nots’ a whole lot in this debate. I know I’ve used it. And generally, when we used to say that, we meant the Power Five conferences as compared to everyone else. That’s still true, but there are more like three categories now. There are the have-a-lots (the SEC and Big Ten), the have-somes (the Big 12, ACC, and Pac-12) and the have-a-littles (everyone else). The have-a-lots are wresting control of the ship, and it will take time, more commissions, and probably some legislation to right it for everyone else.
Nobody’s going to shed too many tears over the NCAA taking its licks, but this is the sort of thing that a responsible steward of college sports might be qualified to handle. Shame we don’t have one of those.
It’s understandable that the White House might want to score a win for the everyman here by making one by executive fiat. But it’s also understandable that they’re stepping back upon realizing it wouldn’t be that simple. I wouldn’t want to deal with this right now. To quote a report from CBS Sports: “The White House was also convinced to sideline the commission because of the full docket Trump faces: trade disputes, the Russia-Ukraine war and the economy.” You know? Tough to argue with those priorities.
This is an issue I care about. But the question for me has pretty consistently been why Congress — who is habitually, paralytically incapable of passing much in the way of any legislation — would turn its limited attention to college sports. I feel similarly about the White House. And that question is still pertinent today. I suspect the House settlement finds its way through for a while, and without a law to accompany it.
Then I guess we’ll just see what happens. What else is new?
🏀 Feeling pretty good about the Thunder write-up. I feel like they’re growing up before our eyes. So beautiful, right? Feeling less good about picking the Bucks to beat the Pacers in Round 1. Whoops. But you know what? The Pacers have been great. You gotta hand it to ‘em. You also have to hand it to the Knicks, who managed more than the Timberwolves last night to stay alive. I wouldn’t bet on a Game 7, but I’m certainly not opposed.
🎾 Joao Fonseca is the best story in tennis right now. The 18-year-old phenom dismantled a very good player in Hubert Hurkacz in the first round of the French Open, then advanced in straight sets again. Now he’s got Jack Draper coming up, who I expect he’ll give a match. My professional advice is that you tune in for that one. Basically, Fonseca is the exact archetype for an exciting young player that I wish an American could fulfill one of these days. Ah well. I’ll settle for Brazil.
📚 Book corner returns! I’m still chipping away on Parable of the Sower, but I just finished Slow Horses by Mick Herron. A lot of you will probably have heard of the Apple TV show, which I haven’t seen. It’s a spy novel, and occasionally veers into those tropes a little harder than I like — your mileage may vary — but ultimately, it made me want to watch the show more, not less. So that’s a compliment! I also think it may have one too many reveals for its own good, but all in all, the writing’s solid and once it’s moving, it’s really moving. It may have helped that I pictured a pudgy Gary Oldman pulling the strings throughout, but I can’t count that as a knock. Officially pro Slow Horses. May pick up a sequel sometime. If anyone’s read ‘em and wants to advise, please do.
