Weekly Word: The House case and all its questions, college football and TV and more
The Weekly Word is GoldandBlack.com’s weekly opinion column, written by Brian Neubert. In today’s edition, we discuss the ramifications of the looming House case settlement and much more
SO MANY QUESTIONS
All right, so as college sports’ new world order — another world order — gets ushered in by this looming settlement, here are questions I have as an observer that will need to be answered in the immediate aftermath of whatever terms the NCAA membership settle on in, uh, settling.
Revenue-sharing: This is coming. But are there are going to be standardized rates or will it be up to schools to determine who gets what? The ramifications of either path would be profound and likely not positive in the long run for non-revenue sports.
Ask yourself what happens to Michigan State baseball if it is forced to pay its third baseman the same as its quarterback. Two words: Club sport.
Title IX: Chances are, the House settlement will be one of those Russian dolls. Pop one open and more come out. There will be more courtrooms guiding the future of college sports and one of the hot buttons is going to be Title IX.
Does “participation” under the letter of the law mean equal rationing of the revenue to be shared or does it mean sharing the revenue at all?
Just being honest here, but if athletic departments get $20 million to pay their athletes, how many are going to earnestly, proactively split that 50/50 between the men and women if made to choose? This then becomes a wider issue of culture and equality and such and a situation where administrators and university leaders are going to have really hard decisions to make.
NIL: Assuming “salary” doesn’t include signing over of one’s NIL rights, then it just becomes salary plus NIL, meaning the ceiling-less free market run wild that exists today really doesn’t change all that much, in theory. Hard to know, since the future of collectives would seem to hang in the balance here. But salary wouldn’t stop Zach Edey, for example, from making seven figures.
The up-shot would be some measure of parity in that the choice between nothing and something wouldn’t be so acute. Players are getting bought off other peoples’ rosters right now.
“Contracts.” In the Portal Era, would salary come with stipulations, like a binding commitment to a school? I still find it really hard to believe that anyone could ever not have the option to decide where they attend college.
That’s what gets lost in all this, too. THIS IS STILL COLLEGE.
Roster Limits: If you get X number of slots for players, does that mean players to be paid or players, period. In my conversations with people who might know, no one seems to know what could become of walk-ons.
Who’s gonna police all this?: Has there ever been an NCAA issue where this hasn’t been a question?
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Everything is content these days, right?
Well, here’s what I want: Behind-the-scenes coverage — “Naked and Afraid”-style reality TV — from those transporting Rutgers’ gear 2,500-plus miles to Los Angeles for the Scarlet Knights’ Friday, Oct. 25, game at USC. Friday night game, by the way, so that means the team leaves, when, Wednesday?
Traditionally, the equipment has traveled by truck. That can’t possibly be the deal with these game can it?
Now, the Big Ten has money, lots of it, and Fox is probably of the hook for some of this hilariously illogical expense.
But what about when Duke has to play at Stanford, one of the by-products of Big Ten TV stakeholders shanking the Pac-12 (though the Pac-12 handed it the blade via mismanagement). Yes, folks, the pride of Palo Alto — just 45 miles from Monterrey Bay — is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU is now in the same conference as Syracuse.
This comes to mind again as the House case nears settlement and the sea change (again) that will come with it. There’s reportedly been some completely reasonable strife over how much of this settlement tab will be footed by non-Big Football conferences. Yeah I know, percentages, but Miami (Ohio) paying anything for Miami (Fla.) matters just is the very definition of the poor getting leveraged by the rich and the rich clutching every dollar as if it’s a matter of life and death.
And look what they’re spending that money on: Rutgers is going to spend who knows how much money to fly across the country on a weekday to get smashed by SC in a game that’ll kick off at 11 p.m. on the East Coast.
(Little known fact: New Jerseyians actually turn into gremlins around 1:47 a.m. on Friday nights.)
But TV has now claimed Friday nights for college football. Thursday will be next. Before you know it, B1G Tuesday will be a thing.
All this comes on top of looming revenue-sharing, an all-new era for running athletic department financials, fund-raising, everything.
College sports under the punchline that “amateurism” has long been always sort of played both sides of the fence, working to make profit but not to profit so much that it might be labeled for-profit. It’s been a business dressing up like a wholesome not-for-profit for years, a hedge fund manager hiding in a cap and gown.
Now, it is unabashed, probably minimally regulated business, and that’s fine.
At least it doesn’t have to pretend anymore.
(I know this is a boring, tiresome topic, but it is a big deal.)
Purdue Flag (Chad Krockover)
RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK
• Watching the NBA Playoffs brings to mind what Purdue’s offense might look like next season as it’s more wing-heavy and won’t have Zach Edey‘s screen-setting anymore.
In the NBA you see things like Boston using Jayson Tatum as a screener and roller, opening things up for him. Maybe on a much smaller scale, Myles Colvin, Camden Heide and/or Kanon Catchings can do that sort of thing with Braden Smith or Fletcher Loyer.
(Told you these were random thoughts.)
• At what point can the Big Ten start sending flowers and boxes of chocolate — perhaps a nice Whitman’s Sampler — to the University of North Carolina, the Park Place of the Monopoly board. And no, I’m not forgetting about Notre Dame.
If the ACC implodes, the Hunger Games really begin, with UNC being the prize. But if the Big Ten and SEC consume the loose assets, that sure seems to me like a step toward a Power 2 Super League, and I’m not sure Purdue and its ilk sort of programs ought to want that.
• P.J. Thompson being put out on the road as a recruiter now is another sign of the fast track he’s being put on, his standing within the program and the fact that Matt Painter is treating his protogé like he’s gonna be here a while, that this is an entry-level role for him anymore, hasn’t been for quite some time now.
The post Weekly Word: The House case and all its questions, college football and TV and more appeared first on On3.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings