IT BEGINS...NCAA calling a "special constitutional convention"

[filbert]

Let's watch as the ... stuff hits the fan:

"This is not about tweaking the model we have now," (NCAA President Mark) Emmert said. "This is about wholesale transformation so we can set a sustainable course for college sports for decades to come. We need to stay focused on the thing that matters most — helping students be as successful as they can be as both students and athletes."

https://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...n-in-november/

Emmert acknowledged the outcome of the convention could create rules that are different for the biggest and smallest schools within Division I, saying "the constitution and the structure of governing college sports need to be able to accommodate a very broad collection of institutions."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...cs/5434145001/

Two weeks ago, Emmert made headlines when he said it was time to consider a decentralized and deregulated version of college sports that shifted power to conferences and campuses and away from the NCAA. The idea is a sea change for an organization formed 115 years ago that is part of the bedrock of collegiate atletics.

https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2021/0...-governed.html

“Under the current structure, expectations for the Association vastly exceed its capabilities,” said Dr. Robert Gates, one of five independent members of the Board of Governors and former U.S. Secretary of Defense and former president at Texas A&M. “The NCAA has significant responsibility but little authority to fulfill those responsibilities. The broader Association cannot move quickly. Power is diffuse.

“Until we can better align the mission of the Association with its authority, the NCAA will not be able to play the role it should play in governing college sports. We cannot go on as we are.”

https://theathletic.com/news/ncaa-to...n/Vv15hSZb7Tc7

Will FCS and other non-power-conference D-I schools get screwed? Will any of it really matter--will the NCAA change enough to survive?

Stay tuned!

[Prairiehaas]

Is it looking like the P5 (or will that be P4?) FBS conferences will be separating from the current NCAA structure? Perhaps to become a new division/league keeping TV money within their structure? Could this result in a melding of the Group of 5 and the 2 or 3 top FCS conferences into either 5 conferences of 18-20 or 8 conferences of 10-12?

Questions and speculations. A TV market of 150,000 - 200,000 will look better to the MAC than it does to the Big10.

[filbert]

My current thinking:

the biggest 96 (+- 32 or so) football schools become the new "Division I-A" and remaining FBS schools and most/all of FCS become the new "Division I-AA" with a "Division I-AAA" for the non-football current D-I (because the NCAA men's basketball tournament is by far the biggest money maker for the NCAA, they're not going to screw around too much with the Cinderella stories that make the first round or two of it). I don't think they'll mess around too much with FCS because that's were a lot of the HCBU's are, and by that same reason, they'll keep FCS at the Division I level.

They'll put in some additional rules/regulations/requirements to make Division I-A harder to get into, and make Division I-AA/AAA harder to get into, too. Honestly have no clue what they'll do with D-II and D-III.