Assessing next steps for NCAA, why pushing out the Big Ten, SEC isn't an option

On Friday, the SEC and Big Ten announced the formation of a joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors and athletics directors that will address issues in college athletics. On Monday, On3’s Andy Staples broke down how the NCAA should respond to the move.

“The leaders of the NCAA don’t want the Big Ten and the SEC to leave because then there’s no more money for the NCAA,” Staples said. “The people in charge of the NCAA have to go find new jobs at that point, because it becomes a much different organization, a much smaller organization.

“It really becomes an event management group at that point, and the events are not that exciting. If you lose the Big Ten and the SEC you also lose a lot of the the NCAA basketball tournament, which is very valuable. It funds the entire NCAA. So, they’re not trying to push them out. Trust me.”

According to a report by CBS Sports, the Big Ten and SEC each raked in over $800 million in revenue in 2022. The next closest conference was the ACC, which barely reeled in more than $600 million. The Big 12 only brought in $480 million.

In a release, the SEC claimed the joint advisory group will not act independently of the NCAA and will only serve as a consulting body. However, the conferences’ promises haven’t prevented fans from speculating this is the beginning of a breakaway.

Of course, any split would be based on many of the issues the joint advisory group will address, including “recent court decisions, pending litigation, a patchwork of state laws, and complex governance proposals.”

Staples believes SEC commissioner Greg Sankey quietly may be working with the NCAA to fix these issues despite his aggressive front.

“The thing about Greg Sankey that I will point out, it’s very similar to what we would see from Nick Saban,” Staples said. “We remember Nick Saban would complain about something publicly but, behind the scenes, was working to adjust to it however he needed to adjust to it. That is Greg Sankey complaining publicly, whining to Congress.

“They were all whining to Congress but I think, behind the scenes, gaming out other scenarios. I think this is an admission that, ‘OK, may not be getting what we want from Congress. Clearly, the NCAA and the other schools are not going to help us get there. So, we’re gonna have to drag everybody there.’ I think that’s what they’re saying.”