Last week commissioners from Division I conferences outside the Power Five, sent a request to the NCAA.
They wanted the NCAA reduce the number of sports required for Division I membership.
That’s not going to happen.
On Friday, the NCAA’s Division I Council reiterated that the required minimum of 16 varsity sports will still apply to all Division I members. If schools want to try and trim that number, they will have to petition the NCAA for a waiver on their own.
Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, Athletic Director at the University of Pennsylvania summarized the ruling:
“Higher education is facing unique challenges, and the Division I leadership believes it’s appropriate to examine areas in which rules can be relaxed or amended to provide flexibility for schools and conferences. We will prioritize student-athlete well-being and opportunities balanced with reducing costs associated with administering college sports, but a blanket waiver of sport sponsorship requirements is not in keeping with our values and will not be considered.”
The news came as a big relief to college golf coaches. They put out their own letter to the NCAA opposing the proposal and they were heard along with coaches from other non-revenue sports.
The Golf Coaches Association of America CEO Mark Emmert wrote to the NCAA, his letter read in part:
“If this waiver passes, it would mean the potential for fewer teams, fewer scholarships and fewer opportunities for student athletes competing in Olympic and non-revenue producing sports. The GCAA strongly opposes this drastic measure.”
The Division I Council had bigger fish to fry as well.
Toughest item for the NCAA at this point is college football, the machine that drives the big revenue at many university across the nation.
“There’s so many balls in the air with just really all sports,” a council spokesman said. “We all know that football is the key that drives the economic impact of all the sports, and while we kind of sit back and wait for them to figure out what that’s going to look like, the trickle-down effect for all of us is huge. I think there’s going to be a lot of moving parts once we figure out what football looks like that’ll determine how we can play all of our sports and what that looks like.”
2 Comments
baxter cepeda
While it’s a noble stand for the athletes by the ncaa, This story highlights how reliant the college system is in college football players risking mind and body to pay their bills.
Now college footballers may be put at even higher risk to foot the bills, which yes, the ncaa uses to support many American amateur athletes; but it also uses that money to control athletes, including football players themselves. Control by not paying or allowing anyone else to pay athletes for likeness.
What would happen if the ncaa need to start paying athletes?
What will happen as pro minor leagues in both basketball (gLeague) and football (XFL, albeit not in business now) increasingly threatening the ncaa model?
How can the ncaa become less reliant on college football and basketball revenue?
Hopefully rich alumni step up by supporting all sports more.
At some point the USOC may need to support the ncaa, especially if college football players cannot.
And imo We all need to support all college sports more.
Attend more events. Watch more. Talk about these athletes more. There’s a lot more to the ncaa and amateur sports than just football and men’s basketball.
Women’s basketball is somewhat on the rise at both college and pro levels thanks to support from the nba, Kobe and Giana, and increasing coverage.
No doubt Golf Channels coverage is Increasing viewership for college golf. Hopefully this coverage brings more fans to the course, because fans make the tv coverage better. Hopefully all this raises revenues for college golf and makes the sport less reliant on football.
One problem for many ncaa sports is that while The organization and its tv partners present football and basketball in first class fashion, most other sports are still covered in archaic, amateurish fashion, if at all. Not digestible.
Every ncaa sport potentially has masses of passionate fans, but if the live presentation and/or coverage stink, fans end up watching the same old college football games, keeping everyone dependent on them.
Tom Edrington
My quick question to all those who want to play athletes would be this: How much does it cost to attend college, to eat and board? Average $40,000 to $50,000? I would say that universities are basically using the old barter system where athletes get scholarships with a value of $120,000 to $200,000 over a four-year period. It would be less expensive to “pay them” as you propose, a salary of $25,000 a year and let them foot the bill for their schooling….