According to a report from CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd on Wednesday, the NCAA could be looking at creating an entirely new governing body for the “Power Four” programs in college athletics.
Dodd says that NCAA President Charlie Baker presented the NCAA Council with a new governing structure that would operate separately and involve only the Power Four conferences.
While still in its infancy, this initiative shouldn’t be taken lightly, as Dodd says it “should be considered one of the most dramatic shifts in the Power Four’s desire for more control” since gaining autonomy after the 2014 NCAA Convention.
Last month, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that Baker met with all 32 Division I Commissioners concerning the future of college athletics and what the NCAA structure could look like going forward. The proposed governance model would further separate the Power Four from the other 32 leagues and has jumpstarted concerns among the the other leagues with just how much the new model would benefit the Power Four over the “have-nots.”
Here’s how a source put it to Dellenger: “Though still in the process of development, the governance framework can simply be summed up in five words, says one FCS league commissioner: ‘Let the big dogs eat.’”
It must’ve been one heck of a presentation, too, because Dodd’s source called it “one of the more compelling presentations just in terms of the reality of where we are in college sports.”
That same source went on to tell Dodd that the new structure would create “essentially two different Division I’s.”
So, why the split – and why now?
Well, that part is actually pretty simple.
The issues that, say, Division III athletic departments are having to deal with are on an entirely different scale than what we’re seeing at Division I schools.
“Only 14 of the 40 members on the Council are from Power Four conferences,” Dodd explains. “The concern among those power conferences is that Council members who had no stake in an issue had the power to vote it up or down.”
In a conversation with a Power Four administrator, Dodd asked it this way:
“You essentially don’t want a Division III president voting on roster caps,” Dodd said, to which the P4 administrator said, “Correct.” (Roster caps are a controversial issue involved in the House settlement.)
So, removing the Power Four from the equation – or rather removing the smaller programs in this new governing body – would essentially streamline the process and make it more efficient for the Power Four to deal with issues like the transfer portal windows and the recruiting calendar.
Undoubtedly, this would be one of the biggest changes that college athletics has ever seen, but with the recent hysteria around the sport, it appears its come to a point where the old addage fits: desperate times call for desperate measures.
