School presidents in College Student Football League predict 'implosion of FBS'

Earlier this week executives and college athletics administrators unveiled their proposal for a national league called the College Student Football League (CSFL). The “Super League” idea was first introduced by the group last spring but Tuesday marked the full rollout.

West Virginia University president Gordon Gee and Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud, supportive ambassadors of the CSFL, released a letter Friday in the Chronicle of Higher Ed predicting the “implosion of the FBS” and calling out the possibility of the SEC and Big Ten “creating their own 36-school ‘Super League.'”

The CSFL, which was put together by the College Sports Tomorrow advisory group, would call for reorganizing the 136 FBS schools into two conferences. The top 72 programs, mostly Power 5 schools, would be in the Power 12 Conference consisting of a dozen six-team divisions based on geography. The remaining 64 FBS schools would play in the Group of 8 conference, according to the CSFL proposal. Promotion would be available for the top Group of 8 schools, but no relegation for the Power 12.

In the letter Friday, Gee and Syverud wrote reorganizing college football is why they have supported College Sports Tomorrow.

“We are advocating for FBS presidents to make sure we are listening carefully to all options,” the school presidents wrote. “For example, there is a new group called College Sports Tomorrow, composed of college and pro-sports executives who are embedded in higher education in various ways. CST has recommended reorganizing FBS into the College Student Football League, or CSFL, a single, unified college football league designed to secure the future of not only football, but all college sports.

“While we respect CST, this group itself is not the point. It’s their ideas, their principles, and the substance of their approach that we encourage FBS presidents to contemplate.”

CST’s leaders include TurnkeyZRG chairman Len Perna, Cleveland Browns owner and well-known Tennessee booster Jimmy Haslam and former NBA player Grant Hill. Supportive ambassadors include multiple athletic directors, such as Tennessee’s Danny White, North Carolina’s Bubba Cunningham and Texas Tech’s Kirby Hocutt.

Gee and Syverud wrote in the letter that the league would partner with a college football players’ association to work with athletes to establish compensation through negotiations. Athletes would be full-time students, and the CSFL would pay players directly.

The CSFL still faces an uphill climb. The NCAA and member institutions would need to sign off. Plus, the CSFL would mean restructuring the College Football Playoff. The CFP has a deal with ESPN through 2031-32. That would all mean conference commissioners would back the idea, which is an unknown. Conferences also have TV contracts.

According to the CSFL proposal, the postseason would feature a 24-team playoff with division winners and wild card berths. The structure would be similar to the NFL playoff structure. The CSFL’s season would be lengthy, running from late August to January.

Gee and Syverud are backing the creation of a “Super League” because it could reorganize college football and the NCAA. SEC and Big Ten leaders are set to meet next week in Nashville for a day of meetings to discuss the CFP and the House v. NCAA settlement.

“As university presidents, we need to get back in the game and take responsibility for our future,” the Syracuse and West Virginia presidents wrote. “We can’t rely on commissioners or Congress to do this. More engagement, urgency, and leadership are needed from all of us to breathe new life into college sports and create a sustainable new model that is steeped in the cherished traditions we all want to preserve.”