Last month, the professional organization representing FBS athletic directors issued what amounted to a veiled ultimatum. The “overwhelming majority” of those ADs at a Lead1 Association meeting in Washington D.C. had a “strong preference” the NCAA continue running major-college football if the association “can be more streamlined and less bureaucratic.”
Or else … what?
The answer has opened the door to perhaps not a breakaway of major college football and basketball but at least a forming picture of what a new structure would look like. A growing number of those ADs believe they have a unique and powerful hammer as leverage if the NCAA doesn’t clean up its act.
“If not,” a Lead1 executive said. “We would explore other options.”
Among those implied options, CBS Sports has learned, is leveraging schools’ participation in the NCAA Tournament. While a separate basketball tournament operated outside of the NCAA isn’t likely anytime soon, the ADs’ realization they could create such an event provides a picture as to how the NCAA’s two biggest sports will be run in the future.
A football breakaway has long been discussed — it is more likely than one in basketball — as the NCAA’s power diminishes as membership has demanded a reorganization of the 117-year-old organization.
Approximately 80 FBS ADs traveled to Lead1’s mid-September meeting in person. Another 20 participated virtually, putting 100 out of 131 total in attendance. They saw two compelling presentations made by former West Virginia AD and NCAA executive Oliver Luck and North Carolina associate professor of sports administration Erianne Weight.
One presentation was a model with college football continuing to operate inside the NCAA. The other showed the FBS going “completely independent” of the NCAA, according to a source.
“It was about as unanimous as it could get,” Lead1 CEO Tom McMillen said of his membership’s reaction to football governance. “It was, ‘Fix it or we will seriously consider move options.'”
Basketball is involved in the discussion because the revenue from the NCAA Tournament is used by the association to essentially run major-college football.
The NCAA does not sponsor an FBS championship. Meanwhile, the tournament is the mother’s milk of the association itself bringing approximately $800 million per year. Approximately 80% of that goes back to the members.
McMillen compared more oversight…
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