It finally happened.
After decades of inaction, wishful thinking or just plain ignorance, the NCAA, long a relic of the past, is finally facing its future. Or, more accurately, was dragged there by a multitude of pending lawsuits that threatened to bankrupt the organization.
With Division I Power 5 conference presidents signing off on the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, revenue sharing – using TV contract money to compensate student athletes – will soon be the law of the land. Not just allowed, but mandatory. Power 5 schools are on the hook for some $20 million a year for the next few years to cover back pay for student athletes who, until name, image and likeness agreements were first allowed in July 2021, were unable to earn additional compensation beyond athletic scholarships and associated benefits, and to compensate current and future student athletes.
A lot of ink has been spilled bemoaning this brave new world of college athletics, but there’s nothing you or I can do about it. The NCAA’s flawed “amateurism” model is dead. Student athletes will soon be, in a sense, professional athletes. No more “$100 handshakes.” No more “no-show” jobs. No more questioning why the parking lots outside of football facilities around the country look like exotic car dealerships. No more talk of “impermissible benefits.” The cat’s out of the bag, so to speak.
Because it’s highly unlikely any of us who currently invest our time, money or emotional energy into supporting college athletics are suddenly going to stop and support loftier causes, it’s time to reckon with what that future might look like.
There’s a problem with that mental exercise, though; no one really knows what the future of college athletics looks like.
I spent a couple of days last week at a local journalism conference hosted by the University of Mississippi. In various rooms around campus, filled with university administrators, media professionals and thought leaders from around the state and the country, there was one topic on everyone’s mind: What’s going to happen to the college sports we love?
Over and over again, I was asked some version of the question, “Where are we headed?” I’m sure my questioners assumed that as a college faculty member I’d care about the answer, and as a sports editor I might even know the answer. Well, they’re batting .500.
So, like any good professor (or sports editor) I answered their question with a question of my own: Does it matter?
Student athletes can now freely transfer between academic institutions without any impacts on their athletic eligibility. Coaches, administrators, non-athlete students and even faculty members have always had this freedom of movement.
Student athletes can now earn compensation for their efforts on and off the field, just like virtually every other American.
Athletics administrators, particularly those in upper administration (a group long overpaid and underworked), will soon find themselves having to justify their salaries as athletic departments look for ways to cut costs, a situation most of us face daily.
I can’t tell you what will happen to women’s sports, or so-called “Olympic sports,” other than to say those teams will continue to exist in the near term. With Power 5 football barreling toward autonomy – and with it, the ability to negotiate media-rights contracts outside the normal conference structures and free from NCAA regulation – media rights to those other sports will become increasingly valuable to shareholders of Disney, Fox and Turner Sports. Just look at what’s happening with the explosion of interest in (and TV ratings for) women’s basketball, baseball and softball.
Certainly there’s work to be done. The transfer portal system is a mess and in need of serious restructuring. Coaching salaries, particularly in football and men’s basketball, have ballooned out of control. The “arms race” of facilities, amenities, services and support staff has reached the point of excess. But those bubbles will soon burst. That extra $20 million per year has to come from somewhere.
For college sports fans, the message is simple: Be aware but not afraid. Charting a new course is always a time of uncertainty and new paths are often turbulent. But up ahead, just around the bend, I think I see a new golden age dawning.
Philip Poe is sports editor. He can be reached at [email protected]
Philip Poe is sports editor.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
