A combination of realignment, name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal threatens to bury college football. Many people involved in the sport have said that college football in its current form is unsustainable in the long term.
The Athletic's Andrew Marchand and Stewart Mundell report that a 20-member group calling itself College Sports Tomorrow (CST) has announced that it is planning to pursue college football's “Super Sports Tomorrow,” which could potentially leave the NCAA. This is why he is thinking of creating a league. .
The new proposals include promotion and relegation, play-offs without a selection committee, and a system in which the players' association would negotiate terms, transfers and pay for the NIL.
The new league will consist of the top 70 programs from the previous five major conferences, plus the University of Notre Dame and Southern Methodist University in one tier. The group will be divided into seven divisions of 10 teams. The secondary tier consists of the rest of his 50+ FBS teams. Top 70 programs will not be demoted, but will have a chance to move up to the 10-team eighth division, where they will have a chance to win a national title.
The playoffs will consist of eight district winners and eight wild cards (based on record), similar to the NFL playoff system. We don't need a committee anymore.
The proposal also calls for players to form a union and collectively bargain with the new league over the NIL, transfer portal and salary structure rules for players to receive compensation. The league also plans to negotiate media rights deals with television networks and streaming broadcasters.
CST's proposal fell on deaf ears when it came to college football's powerhouses, such as the Big Ten, SEC, ESPN and FOX, who currently control most of the revenue, exposure and media rights. The Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC all have media rights tied up until at least 2030, and it is highly unlikely that they will voluntarily abandon these agreements by then.
