Is breaking away from the NCAA a realistic possibility?

[VolBallGuy]

For those smarter and more in the know than me, how difficult would it be for us to break away from the NCAA with other institutions who are through with their witch-hunting hypocritical approaches to governance?

 

[volinSmyrna]

For those smarter and more in the know than me, how difficult would it be for us to break away from the NCAA with other institutions who are through with their witch-hunting hypocritical approaches to governance?

In my opinion, it would have to be done as a group. All of the big 4 conferences and their institutions would have to band together and do it together.

 

['Boro-vol]

NIL has defanged them significantly. This ankle-biting stunt is meant to shore up any relevance they think they may have. The 7 state lawsuit against them will officially neuter them . I don’t know what it looks like afterward, but their days are numbered as a enforcement agency.

 

[volbound1700]

I don't see it as a break away but rather an attempt to eliminate or severely weaken their enforcement policies. They would still manage a lot of the rules of the game, they will just exit the world of recruiting (one aspect).

 

[VolBricks]

Tennessee and Virginia AG's are suing the NCAA over NIL. This could be the end of the NCAA.

 

[Volbrando]

It’s time for the super conferences to join together and form the CFL

 

[Tman44]

Breaking away from the NCAA is not the right question. The NCAA will be neutered by the current (and more) litigation. They are in clear violation of the Sherman Anti-trust act. Damages could force the organization out of business. I'm sure there is a post-apocalyptic plan for college sports. Hopefully one that doesn't allow men to compete against our daughters.

 

[DaddyChad]

NCAA will either go away or change entirely in the next five years. It cannot survive as is.

 

[EasternVol]

Breaking away from the NCAA is not the right question. The NCAA will be neutered by the current (and more) litigation. They are in clear violation of the Sherman Anti-trust act. Damages could force the organization out of business. I'm sure there is a post-apocalyptic plan for college sports. Hopefully one that doesn't allow men to compete against our daughters.

Do you practice corporate law? Care to explain how the NCAA violates the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

It’s possible but what’s the alternative? Is it going to be conferences governing themselves? If that’s the case it would be an even bigger disaster imo. If conferences had no higher power to answer to, then whose to stop a conference from saying well pay for play is completely legal. There are no recruiting rules or anything.

I think the NCAA is on its way out. But my fear is nobody is gonna have a real good alternative in mind.

 

[volbound1700]

It’s possible but what’s the alternative? Is it going to be conferences governing themselves? If that’s the case it would be an even bigger disaster imo. If conferences had no higher power to answer to, then whose to stop a conference from saying well pay for play is completely legal. There are no recruiting rules or anything.

I think the NCAA is on its way out. But my fear is nobody is gonna have a real good alternative in mind.

For Tennessee, SEC would be the alternative/ruling body if NCAA is out.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

It is easy to hate. And I'm no fan of the NCAA enforcement wing.

But there have to be rules about transfers and recruiting. No one wants the wild West, where assistant coaches are constantly harassing your star player to jump ship to them, 24/365. The wild West, where players transfer in the middle of the season, taking your team's playbook and communication habits to the arch-rival two weeks before the game against them. The wild West, where a New York Yankees equivalent can emerge with 400+ players on their roster, all with multi-million $$ NIL deals and very few actually playing football...just to keep them away from the competition's rosters.

So there need to be some rules in place. And someone's gotta figure out what those rules are, given recent judicial NIL findings, and the Congress' lack of interest in setting a new national standard. And then someone's gotta enforce those rules with the schools who agreed on them.

Whoever that is deciding the rules and enforcing them, they're going to be hated JUST LIKE THE NCAA IS TODAY.

So why not the NCAA?

Seems to me the problem isn't really the NCAA itself. I mean, it is undoubtedly a bloated bureaucracy that can stand to be gutted, and has undoubtedly become too big for its own britches and needs to be reined in, but we can do that without eliminating the organization.

No, the problem is a lack of clear, easily-understood limits and allowances. Something that tells everyone in the nation, here's what NIL is, and this is what the Portal is. Here's how they work. Here's how they can be used. Here's how they can't. Abide by that, or this is the punishment.

We don't have that clarity today. There is a vacuum without any structure.

That's the problem. Just as Donde noted.

Let's solve that first. Then figure out if the NCAA can be amended to manage it all for us.

Go Vols!

 

[Zues1]

It’s time for the super conferences to join together and form the CFL

Argonauts?

 

[a vol n tears]

I read a very interesting article recently. It was actually about ’scripting’ games in the NFL. It seems the NFL (their own description) is an entertainment product, not a sport. It had something to do with the law about monopolies. It stated college football is still considered a sport.
Could this sport / entertainment issue eventually end NCAA relevance in football particularly, and change how college sports are managed.

 

[Tman44]

Do you practice corporate law? Care to explain how the NCAA violates the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?

I am pleased to. This is an excerpt from the AG's lawsuit. I'm sure you can google and find the rest of it if this isn't good enough. The AG goes into great detail in how the NCAA's policies violates individuals rights.



"An order declaring the NCAA's NIL-Recruiting ban violates section 1 of the SHERMAN ACT "

 

[volinSmyrna]

It’s possible but what’s the alternative? Is it going to be conferences governing themselves? If that’s the case it would be an even bigger disaster imo. If conferences had no higher power to answer to, then whose to stop a conference from saying well pay for play is completely legal. There are no recruiting rules or anything.

I think the NCAA is on its way out. But my fear is nobody is gonna have a real good alternative in mind.

It will be the big 4 breaking off and there will be a governing authority/commissioner (see Roger Godell in the NFL) for each sport in my opinion.

 

[a vol n tears]

It is easy to hate. And I'm no fan of the NCAA enforcement wing.

But there have to be rules about transfers and recruiting. No one wants the wild West, where assistant coaches are constantly harassing your star player to jump ship to them, 24/365. The wild West, where players transfer in the middle of the season, taking your team's playbook and communication habits to the arch-rival two weeks before the game against them. The wild West, where a New York Yankees equivalent can emerge with 400+ players on their roster, all with multi-million $$ NIL deals and very few actually playing football...just to keep them away from the competition's rosters.

So there need to be some rules in place. And someone's gotta figure out what those rules are, given recent judicial NIL findings, and the Congress' lack of interest in setting a new national standard. And then someone's gotta enforce those rules with the schools who agreed on them.

Whoever that is deciding the rules and enforcing them, they're going to be hated JUST LIKE THE NCAA IS TODAY.

So why not the NCAA?

Seems to me the problem isn't really the NCAA itself. I mean, it is undoubtedly a bloated bureaucracy that can stand to be gutted, and has undoubtedly become too big for its own britches and needs to be reined in, but we can do that without eliminating the organization.

No, the problem is a lack of clear, easily-understood limits and allowances. Something that tells everyone in the nation, here's what NIL is, and this is what the Portal is. Here's how they work. Here's how they can be used. Here's how they can't. Abide by that, or this is the punishment.

We don't have that clarity today. There is a vacuum without any structure.

That's the problem. Just as Donde noted.

Let's solve that first. Then figure out if the NCAA can be amended to manage it all for us.

Go Vols!

I personally want all NIL money to be handled by the group ( such as Spyre) created for NIL purposes. Then make the players sign a contract with that organization for 1- 4 years with buyouts required for either side. If players are going to get paid, they need to see what having a job is like in the real world.

 

[DaddyChad]

It is easy to hate. And I'm no fan of the NCAA enforcement wing.

But there have to be rules about transfers and recruiting. No one wants the wild West, where assistant coaches are constantly harassing your star player to jump ship to them, 24/365. The wild West, where players transfer in the middle of the season, taking your team's playbook and communication habits to the arch-rival two weeks before the game against them. The wild West, where a New York Yankees equivalent can emerge with 400+ players on their roster, all with multi-million $$ NIL deals and very few actually playing football...just to keep them away from the competition's rosters.

So there need to be some rules in place. And someone's gotta figure out what those rules are, given recent judicial NIL findings, and the Congress' lack of interest in setting a new national standard. And then someone's gotta enforce those rules with the schools who agreed on them.

Whoever that is deciding the rules and enforcing them, they're going to be hated JUST LIKE THE NCAA IS TODAY.

So why not the NCAA?

Seems to me the problem isn't really the NCAA itself. I mean, it is undoubtedly a bloated bureaucracy that can stand to be gutted, and has undoubtedly become too big for its own britches and needs to be reined in, but we can do that without eliminating the organization.

No, the problem is a lack of clear, easily-understood limits and allowances. Something that tells everyone in the nation, here's what NIL is, and this is what the Portal is. Here's how they work. Here's how they can be used. Here's how they can't. Abide by that, or this is the punishment.

We don't have that clarity today. There is a vacuum without any structure.

That's the problem. Just as Donde noted.

Let's solve that first. Then figure out if the NCAA can be amended to manage it all for us.

Go Vols!

Problem is it’s too corrupt and incompetent as an entity right now. I don’t know if it’s fixable

 

[b_gann]

It will be the big 4 breaking off and there will be a governing authority/commissioner (see Roger Godell in the NFL) for each sport in my opinion.

I think it'll end up being 3 by the end of it. The ACC won't make it past this decade.

Big 10
SEC
Big 12

When TV contracts end, I think the streamers will all pony up to make a conference theirs. I think you'll likely have Big 10 with Peacock, SEC with whatever service ends up being the end game for Hulu/Disney/ESPN, and then the Big 12 may link up with Prime or something to that effect. 3 conferences of 24 teams or so sounds about right. No clue what they do with the rest of the sports though. I also agree this NIL and transfer world needs some governance real quick or the hardcore and common fan will slowly start to lose interest.

 

[Tman44]

It is easy to hate. And I'm no fan of the NCAA enforcement wing.

But there have to be rules about transfers and recruiting. No one wants the wild West, where assistant coaches are constantly harassing your star player to jump ship to them, 24/365. The wild West, where players transfer in the middle of the season, taking your team's playbook and communication habits to the arch-rival two weeks before the game against them. The wild West, where a New York Yankees equivalent can emerge with 400+ players on their roster, all with multi-million $$ NIL deals and very few actually playing football...just to keep them away from the competition's rosters.

So there need to be some rules in place. And someone's gotta figure out what those rules are, given recent judicial NIL findings, and the Congress' lack of interest in setting a new national standard. And then someone's gotta enforce those rules with the schools who agreed on them.

Whoever that is deciding the rules and enforcing them, they're going to be hated JUST LIKE THE NCAA IS TODAY.

So why not the NCAA?

Seems to me the problem isn't really the NCAA itself. I mean, it is undoubtedly a bloated bureaucracy that can stand to be gutted, and has undoubtedly become too big for its own britches and needs to be reined in, but we can do that without eliminating the organization.

No, the problem is a lack of clear, easily-understood limits and allowances. Something that tells everyone in the nation, here's what NIL is, and this is what the Portal is. Here's how they work. Here's how they can be used. Here's how they can't. Abide by that, or this is the punishment.

We don't have that clarity today. There is a vacuum without any structure.

That's the problem. Just as Donde noted.

Let's solve that first. Then figure out if the NCAA can be amended to manage it all for us.

Go Vols!

I agree with you that there needs to be rules and a governing body. I think sometimes football gives us tunnel vision and we don't really take into account the countless other sports that are organized by the NCAA. I personally think the NCAA has a terrible culture and attitude problem. The sanctimonious and inconsistent way in which they go about their business hasn't necessarily "made friends and influenced people." The NCAA does have a great structure in place to facilitate and support college athletics. I think a reset needs to happen with the culture of the organization. It would be far easier to clean house and reform the current system than it would be to start from scratch. The question here lies does the NCAA leadership posses enough humility to work in the best interest of college athletics or will they once again put themselves first? Any way, I 'm glad this is being addressed sooner than later.

 

[norrislakevol]

It is easy to hate. And I'm no fan of the NCAA enforcement wing.

But there have to be rules about transfers and recruiting. No one wants the wild West, where assistant coaches are constantly harassing your star player to jump ship to them, 24/365. The wild West, where players transfer in the middle of the season, taking your team's playbook and communication habits to the arch-rival two weeks before the game against them. The wild West, where a New York Yankees equivalent can emerge with 400+ players on their roster, all with multi-million $$ NIL deals and very few actually playing football...just to keep them away from the competition's rosters.

So there need to be some rules in place. And someone's gotta figure out what those rules are, given recent judicial NIL findings, and the Congress' lack of interest in setting a new national standard. And then someone's gotta enforce those rules with the schools who agreed on them.

Whoever that is deciding the rules and enforcing them, they're going to be hated JUST LIKE THE NCAA IS TODAY.

So why not the NCAA?

Seems to me the problem isn't really the NCAA itself. I mean, it is undoubtedly a bloated bureaucracy that can stand to be gutted, and has undoubtedly become too big for its own britches and needs to be reined in, but we can do that without eliminating the organization.

No, the problem is a lack of clear, easily-understood limits and allowances. Something that tells everyone in the nation, here's what NIL is, and this is what the Portal is. Here's how they work. Here's how they can be used. Here's how they can't. Abide by that, or this is the punishment.

We don't have that clarity today. There is a vacuum without any structure.

That's the problem. Just as Donde noted.

Let's solve that first. Then figure out if the NCAA can be amended to manage it all for us.

Go Vols!

A lot of the transfer mess and NIL stuff will get sorted out a little more over the next few years when players are made actual employees and are held to the contract they sign with that particular school. The question is how long will the contracts be for? 2 years? The full 4 years?

 

[jeff1vol]

For those smarter and more in the know than me, how difficult would it be for us to break away from the NCAA with other institutions who are through with their witch-hunting hypocritical approaches to governance?

It's as simple as a vote from member institutions. They are all voluntarily a member of the NCAA. If enough schools decide they don't want to be a part of the NCAA and create something different... they can leave the NCAA and do there own thing. Simple as that. Of course TV money and all the revenue being a part of the NCAA would bring would be lost. So there's that.
If every SEC school decided to leave the NCAA and create their own "league", nobody can do anything about it.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

A lot of the transfer mess and NIL stuff will get sorted out a little more over the next few years when players are made actual employees and are held to the contract they sign with that particular school. The question is how long will the contracts be for? 2 years? The full 4 years?

I don't believe it is a certain future, this one you describe where players evolve into employees of the universities.

It is one possible future. But there are at least two other models that could emerge, not to mention continuing to muddle on in the current form. Never underestimate the ability of humanity to muddle along for long stretches of time. Generations, I mean.

So we'll see where we go. One thing is almost for certain: it won't be anything like a 'clean start'. There will be antecedents and carry-overs, and history and complexity. It will be a mess that is JUST cleaned up enough to avoid the horri-bad outcome everyone finally got energized to steer away from.

That's just how civilizations (all civilizations) roll.

Go Vols!

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

It’s possible but what’s the alternative? Is it going to be conferences governing themselves? If that’s the case it would be an even bigger disaster imo. If conferences had no higher power to answer to, then whose to stop a conference from saying well pay for play is completely legal. There are no recruiting rules or anything.

I think the NCAA is on its way out. But my fear is nobody is gonna have a real good alternative in mind.

It’s been moving toward conference investigation and enforcement for awhile.

 

[EconVol92]

I personally don't think the NCAA cares about a breakaway from Football. You have to remember that all of their funding comes from March Madness and they really don't want to be the watchdog over football as there is nothing in it for them.

I wonder if this is their ploy when all is said and done?