In reform efforts, SEC and Big Ten rightly move toward taking wheel from NCAA

Step back and assess the mountain of legal threats facing the NCAA: As of Friday afternoon, it is confronting more than a half-dozen lawsuits and two National Labor Relations Board cases that would radically reshape the college sports enterprise.

The message increasingly emerging from membership in recent weeks, especially at the Power Four conference level, is that the NCAA’s efforts to stave off further legal challenges are not working – and not working fast enough.

BIG TEN, SEC FORM ‘ADVISORY GROUP’ THAT FEELS LIKE A TAKEOVER
BIG TEN, SEC CREATING JOINT ADVISORY GROUP

The association has failed to gain sufficient traction – and it’s not because of lack of effort – on Capitol Hill, as lobbying efforts continue in pursuit of a federal bill that would provide some antitrust protection and codify that athletes are not employees.

A Congressional lifeline is still viewed as a Hail Mary. 

At the same time, there has been pushback on elements of NCAA President Charlie Baker’s reform proposal for several reasons, sources tell On3, including the fact that it does not go far enough to thwart further legal threats. 

It’s against this backdrop – with the NCAA failing to make enough headway on Capitol Hill and a forward-thinking proposal that is not viewed as progressive enough – that the two super conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, are stepping onto center stage. 

The two leagues on Friday announced the creation of a joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors. It’s a necessary move as more power continues to shift to the leagues. The aim is to address the “significant challenges” facing college athletics.

‘The NCAA is no longer in control’

Amid massive industry disruption that has created this unsustainable middle ground of chaos, the two leagues with the most leverage, the most money and the most clout, are moving toward taking control of the wheel from the NCAA – as is necessary.

They have leverage – and no doubt feel a level of urgency – to accelerate the drive toward a fundamentally new collegiate model. The urgency felt throughout the industry – a word used by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti in the announcement – is palpable.

“Given the non-stop judicial threats, the NCAA is no longer in control,” one prominent college sports source told On3 on Friday after the announcement. “Membership can no longer legislate for what it believes is best for the overall enterprise, because if it does not work for one institution or one student-athlete, a lawsuit is filed.

“This is no way to manage college athletes.”

The pace of reform efforts is an important phrase in college athletics these days. With the trial for the blockbuster House antitrust case looming in less than a year, and college sports potentially on the hook for $4.2 billion owed to thousands of athletes, time is of the essence to reach a palatable settlement.

The same goes for the employment debate hovering over the entire enterprise. The employment train is barrelling down three parallel tracks – two with the NLRB and one with the Johnson v. NCAA lawsuit – in an eventual outcome many leaders expect will radically reshape the model in the coming years.

The NCAA is squandering its chance to act proactively.

What is the IMPACT of the SEC and Big Ten Advisory Group?@PeteNakos_ joins @jdpickell to break it down! pic.twitter.com/jctpJjg7vQ

— On3 VIDEO (@On3Video) February 2, 2024

Only ‘savior’ for NCAA in limiting athletes is Congress

One of the issues with Baker’s proposal is that, while the NCAA is trying to fast-track the plan, it represents only an incremental step forward.

Absent Congressional intervention, which appears highly unlikely in the short term, the only way to stave off further legal challenges is to create a system in which athletes collectively bargain with schools, leagues or the NCAA. An employee model would allow athletes to unionize.

Talk with any number of NIL-related companies and athlete advisory groups – they are actively planning for a world in which true revenue sharing and collective bargaining exist for athletes. It is considered a virtual inevitability. And a growing number of athletic directors and conference commissioners acknowledge, privately or publicly, that true revenue sharing is on the horizon.

Congress is not about to bail out the NCAA.

“It took a while for the courts to catch up, but anybody who read the Alston case, and the concurring opinion by Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh knows – it’s over,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas told On3 in the fall. “The only savior for the NCAA in limiting athletes going forward is going to be Congress. They can’t do it themselves. They know it. That’s their only hope.”

It is a long-shot hope against a ticking clock. All of college sports knows it, especially the two super conferences lapping the field in revenue.

A joint advisory group is a necessary step forward, albeit only an initial one. Time for the two super conferences to take the wheel from the NCAA.

The time to construct a fundamentally new model that works for all parties – especially the athletes – is now.