SEC Ponders Potential Big Five Move

[1979Shocker]

If this was to become reality, we would end up having two types of students, those that get paid and those that don't. (This is not counting scholarships which a student athlete would get and what a regular student might get.) Those not getting paid are the ones trying to get an education and possibly help society. Those that would get paid are in school only to make a good showing for an NFL football scout in the hopes that they'll be drafted high enough to be able to make millions of dollar.

Those athletes that make these millions don't help society. They only entertain the rest of us. They don't produce some new technology that will help society. They don't discover some new way to grow food more efficiently to feed the world. They don't take part in medical research that finds cures for cancer and other diseases.

The ones trying to improve society are the ones that have to pay for their education. So the student athlete will not only get paid for their education from a scholarship, they'll also get paid on top of that. And it will not help society one bit.

In the end those that aren't athletes will pay for those who are through increases in ticket prices, concession prices, cable TV prices, etc.

[ShockTalk]

The articles I've seen certainly seem to indicate a desire to let any school that wants to "run with the big dogs" the opportunity to do so (it certainly doesn't hurt the Big 5 to let others in on their game since they still have a competitive edge and excluding them hurts their ability to build consensus in the NCAA), but what that would look like is hard to say. Will they really be able to get the rules shaped so that particular schools get to follow some rules even if the rest of their conference doesn't? Would it require the aforementioned conference realignment? If the latter, it could actually work in WSU's favor to create conditions more favorable to WSU finding a conference realignment home. Or it could be a disaster for WSU and similar schools. I honestly have a hard time saying, but it will be interesting to watch.

I think the only "rules" would be how and how much you pay the student athlete. There really wouldn't be any rules saying who can or cannot. Now the conferences themselves could be a different story and could become a real mess.

[The Mad Hatter]

I think the only "rules" would be how and how much you pay the student athlete. There really wouldn't be any rules saying who can or cannot. Now the conferences themselves could be a different story and could become a real mess.

You would think so, except for the fact that the ability to pay players is being proposed as an exception for specific conferences, which makes it unclear if individual schools outside of those conferences would be included if they wanted to be. It isn't like the Big 5 are proposing new rules for all of D1, they are proposing exceptions for themselves. They appear to be willing to extend those exceptions to others, but what that would ultimately look like is unclear.

[60Shock]

I think the P5 will ask for and receive permission to pay their athletes including their MBB program and the smaller conferences won't be allowed to do the same. That will be a problem.

Allowing the P5 conference schools to pay their athletes and not allowing the other conferences to do so will not stand up in a court of law.

But I have got to admit, these days you never know what is going to take place. And if once side finds a judge to rule in their favor, the other side will likewise find one that supports their position.

[ShockerPrez]

They won't be able to pay just the football team. Title VIX will see to that. It will be interesting.

If they destroy March Madness, I wonder what the repercussions will be.

Obviously the schools'fans will watch, but will anyone else? And are the fans alone enough to garner the TV money necessary to fund this move?

[WSUwatcher]

I think the P5 will ask for and receive permission to pay their athletes including their MBB program and the smaller conferences won't be allowed to do the same. That will be a problem.

Nothing can happen that the smaller conferences don't vote for, too, moshock. Neither the NCAA nor the Power Five dictate the rules.

[ShockTalk]

You would think so, except for the fact that the ability to pay players is being proposed as an exception for specific conferences, which makes it unclear if individual schools outside of those conferences would be included if they wanted to be. It isn't like the Big 5 are proposing new rules for all of D1, they are proposing exceptions for themselves. They appear to be willing to extend those exceptions to others, but what that would ultimately look like is unclear.

If no one but the Big 5 get the exception, they'll be a lot of crap hit the fan. I find it hard to believe that they randomly could say it's OK for the AAC to pay athletes, but not the Sun Belt or it's OK for the Big East, but not the Valley. I'm just not sure they can leave out any school that wants to participate. If the NCAA says it's up to each conference, they'll be a bunch of realignment as those that want to participate leave the conferences that don't want to.

I can see making an exception for the Big 5 in football, I don't see it for any other sport. No other conference really competes at the same level of the Big 5 in football. The same cannot be said for basketball.

As you said, it will be interesting to watch.

[moshock]

Nothing can happen that the smaller conferences don't vote for, too, moshock. Neither the NCAA nor the Power Five dictate the rules.

Who does dictate the rules ?

"The Southeastern Conference sent a strong message to the NCAA: provide the Big Five some autonomy or they'll form their own division.

Sounds to me like they want their own set of rules and if the don't get them they will all leave the NCAA.

[ShockerFever]

It's all turned into a huge money grab and less and less about actual sport. It's pretty embarrassing to watch. I have not watched a college football game for more than 5 minutes in at least 5 years and have not watched a bowl game (National Title game included) in at least the same the amount of time. I will never support a college sport that is so clearly all about the $$$'s and is trying to f*** up the entire college landscape. Conference realignment has screwed up so many rivalries, caused so much upheaval, and has destroyed the very purpose and meaning of the word "conference" that it has just become disgusting to observe. College football no longer interests me in any way, shape, or form.

[Kung Wu]

What is to stop the P5 from following suit with basketball, a few years after the football experiment? At that point they will be organized enough that they don't need the NCAA. It's like college sports could just switch to a semi-pro format across the board. Due to the bubble being created by the federal student loan program, many athletes could use the extra funds.

[wufan]

I don't believe that practicing your trade as a paid student athlete who is interested in the field of professional athletic entertainment means that the student isn't helping society. Look at performing arts schools. Those students often get full scholarships and are allowed to be paid for performances outside of the classroom. I.e. My cousin was paid to give violin lessons and to play in the Austin Philharmonic while a student at UT-Austin.

I'm not sure that Title IX would be enforceable for paying students. I could be wrong.

[SB Shock]

I'm not sure that Title IX would be enforceable for paying students. I could be wrong.

Why wouldn't it be?l

[WuDrWu]

Talk continues regarding expansion of B1G and PAC 12 which would cherry pick Big XII teams including UT, OU, KU, and a few others leaving KSU, ISU, TCU, Baylor and possibly OSU on the outside.
Shox gotta continue to invest in Basketball.
Go Shox!

There is NO scenario that includes KU and excludes OSU. That's your KU homer side wishing. OSU is in about a billion times better situation than KU.

[WuDrWu]

They won't be able to pay just the football team. Title VIX will see to that. It will be interesting.

If they destroy March Madness, I wonder what the repercussions will be.

Obviously the schools'fans will watch, but will anyone else? And are the fans alone enough to garner the TV money necessary to fund this move?

I agree, which is why I believe they are going to have to completely remove themselves from the NCAA. The mess this is turning into is going to make tension in the middle east look quaint, in my opinion.

[Shock Therapy]

The NCAA is a defacto monopoly. The only reason they're allowed to function is because they don't abuse it. Anyone that wants to join D1 can join. If they decide to arbitrarily treat some schools differently from others without giving the have nots the option to realign with the haves, then the antitrust lawsuits will bring the NCAA to it's knees.