One of the leagues governing the highest level of college football. Conferences as we know them are no more. Playoff berths will be determined solely on the field. Promotion and demotion of small schools. Players will be paid directly. NIL and transfer portals are managed.
A group of influential leaders wants all of this to happen soon, touting it as the best way forward for a sport they believe needs saving.
Several university presidents, the NFL's chief lieutenant to Roger Goodell, and some of the sports world's top executives have laid out a plan to completely transform college football — dubbed the “Super League” by outsiders. – devised.Officials from the group “College Sports Tomorrow” (CST) said: The Athletic. Although the plan has drawn skepticism from within the sport's current structure, those behind the idea believe it should be implemented.
“The current model of governing and governing college athletics is over,” Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said. The Athletic During the interview.
West Virginia President Gordon Gee added: “We are in an existential crisis.”
Syverud and Gee are members of CST. CST also includes NFL No. 2 executive Brian Rolup, Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer, and Len Perna, lead organizer at Turnkey ZRG, the research firm that powers nearly all of the conference's top commissioners.20 A group of people. These days include Tony Petitti of the Big Ten.
They are introducing a radical new system to replace the NCAA and College Football Playoff, providing solutions to the current and future hurricane of lawsuits targeting businesses in the sports industry, as well as NIL and transfer portal issues. there is a possibility. They believe they are putting the entirety of college athletics at risk.
The current CST profile includes the top 70 programs (all members of the previous five major conferences, plus the University of Notre Dame and new ACC member SMU) as permanent members, and all of the more than 130 FBS universities. A comprehensive system will be constructed.
Permanent members will belong to seven divisions of 10 teams, and will be joined by teams from eight divisions that will be promoted from the second tier.
More than 50 second division teams will have a promotion system similar to the structure of European soccer leagues, giving them the opportunity to compete for higher divisions. The 70 permanent teams are never at risk of relegation, while the second division has promotion and relegation incentives.
There will be no selection committee required for the playoffs, with the winners of the eight divisions and the top eight wild cards advancing to the postseason. Wild card spots will be determined by records and tiebreakers, similar to the NFL.
CST is borrowing ideas from leagues like the NFL, Premier League, and MLS to create a system that they believe will bring more TV value and sustainability. It's no coincidence that some of the most influential members have direct ties to these leagues.
So far, the group has struggled to gain support with schools slated to play in the proposed “Super League.” The ACC Board heard a presentation from the group in February. However, all dinners scheduled with Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 administrators have been canceled. Spokespeople for the Big Ten and the SEC, respectively, said Petiti and Commissioner Greg Sankey had not met with Mr. Perna's group.
An executive briefed on the commissioner's thoughts said leagues have been hesitant to hold meetings and canceled them to avoid angering their current broadcast partners, including ESPN and FOX.
The biggest obstacle facing this new venture is the multibillion-dollar television contracts that all the top conferences have signed with the major networks (ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS). The FBS conference recently signed a six-year, $7.8 billion extension with ESPN for exclusive rights to the expanded College Football Playoff.
The Big Ten's contract runs through the 2029-30 season, the Big 12's contract runs through 2030-31, and the exclusive SEC and ESPN contracts run through 2033-34. One TV executive said it was “naive” to think there was still a lot of untapped money in the market. One CST executive said major networks with existing contracts would need to buy into the plan before it could hit the public market in the 2030s.
Concerns about college football's business model are sparking new debate about the future shape of the sport. (Josh Hedges/Getty Images)
Universities would own a percentage of the league, a model derived from MLS and devised by former president Mark Abbott, who is involved with CST. Unlike the Football League, the revenue share won't be split evenly among competitors, as top brands like Alabama and Notre Dame will receive a bigger slice of the financial pie. CST, similar to the NFL's approach to negotiating television contracts as one organization, sees added value in creating more meaningful broadcast slots.
The CST model would abolish soccer's long-standing conference structure, while creating one body to negotiate with future unions representing players regarding the NIL, transfer portal and salary structure rules. This acceptance of collective bargaining could avoid antitrust issues that have limited the NCAA's ability to enforce its own rules.
“The only way to solve the problem is to find a solution that is legally defensible, politically acceptable, commercially prudent, and allows us to partner in a way that is really good for our student-athletes.” Perna said. The Athletic.
University administrators are particularly concerned about the House of Representatives v. NCAA class action lawsuit in Northern California that seeks to deny NIL income to athletes before 2021 rule changes. If the plaintiffs prevail, the NCAA and power conferences could be awarded billions of dollars in damages. The House case is one of several federal antitrust cases involving athlete employment rights and NIL compensation that could have devastating effects.
“I really think there is a very good chance that NCAA conferences will go bankrupt in the near future due to litigation, both the lawsuits that are going to go to trial and the lawsuits that will follow,” Syburd said. he said.
Perna started the project three years ago and is considered a leading figure. He has deep ties to the college sports world through his role at Turnkey.
One of the reasons FBS commissioners last month set themselves a March 15 deadline to approve a six-year extension of the College Football Playoff was to block CST, according to two executives briefed on the proposal. It was for a reason.meanwhile The AthleticFollowing the report, college football officials were asking, “What do we know about the Perna-Lorup group?'' They expressed concerns about what would be formulated, as well as questions about why this group would solve the complex problems facing the NCAA.
Media and college sports commentators who have heard about CST have warned of private equity involvement, but Perna insisted this is not a money-making venture for individuals within the group. He said CST had raised initial funds to pay the fees incurred, but declined to say how much. The plan is to generate more revenue with the new format, assuming more TV money is generated with a model comparable to his TV setup in the NFL.
“We're looking at something large enough to give everyone an opportunity to compete, which equates to about 70 schools,” Syburd said. “It will also create more resources to create more valuable content and do more of the things that college presidents think are important to college sports. What’s right for athletes in college football The money to do that isn't going to just come out of thin air. You have to generate it somehow, and that's what we're trying to figure out.”
In recent months, several prominent college leaders have spoken candidly about the future of schools paying players directly. Private equity funding could provide schools with an influx of capital to address these legal issues and competitively compensate athletes in exchange for a stake in their athletics operations. There is.
One top college football administrator claimed that CST was trying to “take over college football.” CST countered that it was simply trying to create a system for soccer that would give a non-revenue-generating sport the finances it needs to survive and thrive. Under the plan, sports other than soccer would remain in their current conference structure.
“Athletes need to be paid and will continue to be paid,” Syburd said. “Most of the rules that prohibit paying athletes, including those that are still in place, are likely to be challenged in court. We need to preserve women's sports and Olympic sports, and we need to There needs to be some way to achieve a fairer and more sensible labor structure. Considering all of this, I think we need a more centralized national collegiate league.”
CST is not alone in trying to find solutions. The most powerful football conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, are a clear example of this by forming an advisory alliance focused on “a sustainable future for college sports.” At least one Florida State University is actively pursuing private equity partnerships of its own.
Rolup's involvement with CST has raised eyebrows. He is the mastermind behind the NFL's current $110 billion television contract and has been sought for the top college commissioner job. It is in the NFL's best interest to strengthen college football's feeder system, but executives briefed on Rolup's role insist the league is not involved. Mr. Lorup declined to comment.
CST leaders insist their intentions are pure and they are rushing into action. An avalanche of legal activity could dramatically increase the chances that their plan, or something like it, will take hold. Even before the day when fundamental change can occur, CST wants to lead from the front, not from the back.
“Speed is our friend,” Gee said. “There's not much time to waste.”
(Top illustration: John Bradford The Athletic; Photo: iStock)
