Casey WassermanThe founder of Wasserman Media and chairman of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee shared his thoughts on the direction of college sports in an interview on The Rich Eisen Show last week.
Wasserman said one of the key questions is whether college football will remain within the NCAA, which primarily subsidizes Olympic sports across the country, or become an independent organization.
“I think we're at a tipping point right now, where college football is by far the second most popular and valuable sport in America, no question about it,” Wasserman said. Told. “The question is, are they going to monetize that opportunity and keep all the money in college football and not share it and let college football become its own entity separate from the NCAA? Basketball and UCLA basketball are part of the Big Ten, but is college football separate?”
“And Michigan State basketball and UCLA softball are over because there's no money,” he continued. “Because 90% of the value and economics of the money comes from college football. Or do you keep them in the system and use that money to solve problems? [name, image, and likeness] The problem is not resolved. ”
Wasserman said the NIL has exacerbated the problem over the past few years by funneling even more money to college football.
“The NIL is very much pay-for-play, where you spend money, you spend money where it generates revenue, and it generates revenue in football,” he said. “So you were just making the wealthy even richer in the system.
“You know, I think the average NIL contract in this country is $500…But Ohio State says it costs $13 million a year to maintain its roster. [Coach] Ryan Day has said so publicly. It's no secret. When it comes to Title IX, I guarantee he's not spending her $13 million on the women's program. Ohio State doesn't spend $13 million a year.
“So college football has grown outside of the system. The problem is that all the Olympic sports, or basketball and all the Olympic sports, football provides the bulk of the economics that subsidizes them. It exists only to exist.”
Of course, Team USA's Olympic success depends on the survival of Olympic sports at the NCAA level without federal funding to support athletics.
“In this country, by the way, all American athletes who are Olympic athletes are trained in college,” Wasserman said. “So if we lose that system, there is no Team USA anymore. Our government does not fund the U.S. Olympic Movement. There is zero federal funding for any part of the U.S. Olympic Movement. All of our athletes are college-trained and there's a lot of pride in that. And then that evaporates.”
As for the solution, Wasserman said the NCAA “doesn't have clear control or authority, because obviously at least conference commissioners and university presidents are running the system.” You need to keep the money in the system. ”
He doesn't expect the federal government to come to his rescue, since the current system benefits many politicians who have SEC and Big Ten schools in their states.
“The only entity that has that ability, whether or not they have the ability or qualifications, is the federal government,” Wasserman said. “This requires national legislation, and this is an area that is often overlooked or underestimated.
“If you’re a senator from Mississippi or Iowa, you like the system as it is. [for the SEC and Big Ten],” he continued. “Are you really going to deprive yourself of propping up the Big 12 and the ACC and other conferences to cheer everyone up, or are you just going to win a national championship every year, or do you want to win a national championship every year? Do you want the Big 10 to get a disproportionate share of your revenue?'' “Do you want people to be truly generous to what is truly local and parochial to their states and environment?'' I am.
“It's hard to get two senators from the state of Georgia to say, 'Yes, we're going to take money away from the University of Georgia, which is the pride of our state, winning a national championship,' and give it to Washington State. ”
If the NCAA and the federal government are unlikely candidates to save Olympic sports, who will come forward? Wasserman suggested there is an opportunity for conference commissioners to come together, but college football and television That certainly sounds idealistic, given the recent trend of making decisions based on money.
“What you're going to have to do is the conference commissioners, the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12, say, 'Look, football is great and we can be successful.'” It takes a lot of money to organize football differently, but if we're doing it and it's not benefitting all of the other student-athletes, we're not really here. They are missing the mark and are not doing their job. And we're not really serving the university,” said Wasserman, a UCLA graduate. “So, UCLA, we are proud of all of our athletes and student-athletes who have accomplished great things. So if they don't recognize and accept responsibility, they will be held accountable. We will miss that the current system is completely messed up.”
Wasserman proposed another creative solution that didn't require the cooperation of conference commissioners, members of Congress or NCAA officials. It's the NFL's Hail Mary.
“In fact, I think you could say that the NFL can help solve the problem, not control college football, but create a path forward and use that as a means to save all of the Olympic sports that are good for this country.” , think about this summer's Paris Olympics. “We have 100 athletes competing in Paris for their country, not the United States, and they go to college for free and receive athletic training at U.S. universities,” Wasserman said. “We train our competitors. We talk about power and soft power…that's a powerful thing. If we don't solve this problem, all of this will disappear. Maintaining the sanctity of sports other than football I think the NFL has a real opportunity to be a leader in that movement by encouraging institutions to do the right thing.”
You can read the full conversation below. The conversation also includes a preview of how Los Angeles will operate during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
