This echo's @Guardman comments in previous posts. College athletics as we currently know it has maybe 10-years remaining. In the mid-2030's it looks like we'll be Louisville Athletics, Inc. or University of Louisville playing in a lower division of college athletics.
With NCAA Embroiled in Chaos, Notre Dame’s Swarbrick Calls Division I Breakup ‘Inevitable’
Wholesale change is unavoidable in college athletics. The Fighting Irish athletic director thinks a total realignment of Division I is coming with it.- PAT FORDE
- APR 23, 2022
In a wide-ranging interview with SI, the only athletic director who is part of the College Football Playoff Management Committee said the fracture lines within the 130-member FBS could leave two disparate approaches: schools that still operate athletics within a traditional educational structure, and those who tie sports to the university in name only.
“There’s always been sort of a spectrum—and I want to stress that everything along the spectrum is valid; it’s not a criticism,” Swarbrick said. “On one end of the spectrum, you license the school name and run an independent business that’s engaged in sports. The other end of the spectrum, you’re integrated into the university in terms of decision making and requirements, and some follow that.
“I think both can produce great athletic competition. But it’s really hard to get there given the contractual obligations that already exist.”
The Southeastern Conference media rights deal runs through 2033–34. The Atlantic Coast goes through 2035–36. The Big Ten is in its negotiation window now, with Fox Sports positioned to be the major stakeholder. The Pac-12 and Big 12 are next on the clock.
Should the schism come, Notre Dame would be among those that still tied its athletics to the educational mission of the school and answered to its president and academic administration. Others could essentially be spun off while retaining the school name and branding. A theoretical example (not proffered by Swarbrick): Oregon Ducks Athletics, Inc.
Where the 130 schools fall along that spectrum would be up to individual institutional choice.
The expectation is that the Big Ten and SEC will continue to leave the rest of the Power Five conferences behind in terms of revenue. The widening gap will place more stress on the current landscape, leading some schools to move away from their existing conference affiliations—and possibly leading some leagues to boot longtime members that don’t bring as much to the revenue trough.
“We’re going to have these two conferences that have so distanced themselves from anyone else financially,” Swarbrick said. “That’s where I see it starting to break down. There are so many schools trying to get out of their current conference, and they can’t get there.”
Asked which schools could be looking to move, Swarbrick answered, “None that I’d share.”
The SEC’s destabilizing acquisition of Texas and Oklahoma played a role in halting progress toward a 12-team College Football Playoff, a concept Swarbrick helped bring to the table last June. He, SEC
commissioner Greg Sankey, Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby formed the subcommittee that came up with the plan.
After initially being hailed as a welcome expansion in many circles, the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 eventually expressed concerns and dug in as unified opposition. That led to a series of unproductive CFP meetings that Swarbrick described as, “the single oddest thing I’ve ever been through.”
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick says total Division I realignment is ‘inevitable’ - Sports Illustrated
Wholesale change is unavoidable in college athletics. The Fighting Irish athletic director thinks a total realignment of Division I is coming with it.
www.si.com
