Steveo’s Salvos: Firing a broadside at NCAA “Boneheads”
Lebanon, TN- The more reports coming out of meetings the NCAA boneheads, as described accurately by Charles Barkley, NBA and college basketball broadcaster and Hall of Famer, the more the great traditions of college football seem on their way out for good. Read Jame Parks’ online report of February 19, “Charles Barkley calls out NIL in college football: ‘We screwed up’.” I, like many fans, enjoyed the opportunities of surprise and upsets over the years. There definitely were not enough. However, the alignments that continue to take place by putting more money into the elite programs just decimate the competition among 134 teams at the Football Bowl Subdivisions (FBS) even further.
NCAA Boneheads: Maybe there is a Strategy after all
Already, the desire of expanded playoffs many fans looked forward to is becoming another tool for the “rich” to get richer.” Look no further than the “Power Five” of college football. As written in Ross Dellenger’s article on Yahoosports.com, “Change is coming to CFP. What will it look like?” on February 21, already the SEC and Big Ten are positioning themselves to monopolize eight of twelve automatic seeds in the College Football Playoffs (CFP) starting in 2026. Where’s the Federal Trade Commission with the anti-trust suits? Lack of competition will probably knock about 75% of FBS college football programs right out of the ranks of the “competitive.”
The NCAA boneheads just don’t “react” as Charles Barkley assesses. More importantly, they don’t, can’t and won’t plan effectively to make this sport more competitive for all 134 teams involved. And these people pride themselves on representing so-called “institutions of higher learning?” Is this what and how they teach college students today? Let’s come up with some ideas, see how they work, and try to fix them later if they don’t. “Oops!” In reality, the boneheads are feeding only to an elite group of NCAA members who see beneficial opportunities unfolding before them.
How about fair-shares?
As recorded in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales, the Good, the Fun and the Ugly, I have no contentions with players sharing in the vast revenues of the sport being made. On the other “Oops” hand, however, I can’t see giving 18-year-olds enough money to buy a house before they’ve played a down or attended a class. Or buying a Lamborghini before even earning a college degree and getting a good job and starting a career in football or any other profession. Something for nothing? Handouts? And if this money is only for name, image and likeness (NIL), don’t all 10,000 FBS players deserve the same amount of money? Their images can all be seen on the TV screen during a game.
If football focuses not on “pay for play,” why do some players get offered significant sums higher than their teammates or the guys across the line of scrimmage? Fans wouldn’t watch if one can’t win and the other can’t lose. Don’t both sides have names, images and likenesses? Why are some compensated more than the others? They can’t claim it’s for being better football players. Schools don’t pay students for that in college. That’s supposedly not what they’re being paid for.
And NILs possibly exist beyond the playing field
The original intent of this sport for the players good enough to earn came with the chance to reap the benefit of a free college scholarship. All of a sudden, these scholarships aren’t worth anything? Ask the millions of families whose kids don’t play a major college sport. Many have to go into debt for tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars if they aren’t. If their kids could all only be about 6’ 5” tall and weigh close to 300 lbs. or run a 4.0 in a 40-yard dash. Why does that matter? If they can’t, they’ve all got names, likenesses and images. Multitudes of fans see them on the dance cams, kiss cams, smile cams, on-field award ceremonies and in the stands during breaks in the action or cheering their team on.
Wait for some disgruntled parents of college-age kids coming forth with some class action. Why can’t their kids don’t get paid the same NIL money. Supposedly that’s the reason these other students playing football earn money. We’re told it’s not for their athletic prowess. If this is the case, who believes this? However, football coaches at lower levels among the Group of Five teams beg to differ, to say the least. Their best football players transfer to play for richer programs (Power Five or P5s). They offer more money for their name, image and likeness – not for playing football which they just happen to do.
NCAA Boneheads’ biggest blunder?
It’s over. The Power Five’s look out for themselves. For more money, they close ranks among themselves as to who will be in this circle. As I indicate in Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales, in the end there will be 40-48 schools leveraging ESPN or other networks for all the football money. Will they have the audacity to schedule the have-nots left behind to throw them a bone once in a while? Probably, but only to keep them alive to develop and eventually take their best players. They have through the more dangerous creation of the NCAA boneheads. That is the unlimited opportunity to leave after being recruited by the collectives of the 40-48 programs through a wide-open transfer portal. The current P5s entice to attract talent among what’s referred to among the lower as the Group of Five (G5s) conferences.
Smoke and Mirrors.
To keep some hopes up for the lesser schools, they allow them one slot among the 12 for the College Football Playoff (CFP). And if 85 scholarship players aren’t enough for P5 programs, the system exists already rigged to add more players without scholarships. One of the directors of a collective points this out in Ross Dellenger’s Yahoosports.com piece of February 19, “As college football’s elite is engulfed in a power struggle, G5 left just trying to survive: ‘We are a farm system,’ “P5s can fill 30 available openings that the NCAA boneheads currently allow for “walk-ons.” They now raise money just for this.
Every now and then you will see a player at some program awarded a full ride. They serve the program as a non-scholarship walk-on and eventually earn that money. However, in the article, the collectives raise more money now to induce talented walk-ons with money through the transfer portal to their new team. Good for the walk-ons, but supposedly inducements are illegal.
P5 Power play
Though Barkley refers to the NCAA boneheads as being totally reactive, I pointed out in my article on February 2, “Who is the NCAA? Answer: 134 members with Football Programs who approved NIL policy.” These NCAA boneheads come from among the 134 football playing member schools and more. And from among these programs, because of television money, SEC and Big Ten members are strong voices that influence such decisions.
I have a hard time believing that these two conferences aren’t manipulating the NCAA boneheads as ignorantly as considered. They seem to be positioning themselves right where they want to be. If they don’t get things their way, they have the power, the money, and the media right where they need them. They can take all the money and run. They will have their Super Conference(s) and everything else they need to reorganize themselves without the NCAA. Other schools will fend for themselves.
G5 Power play
The best leverage the remnants will have among themselves is Basketball. The 40-48 alone may not be as attractive media-wise as the 351 teams competing for the NCAA tournament at that level. And in recent seasons, more of the lesser football and non-football playing members have made inroads deep into the Final Four. Last year, UConn, San Diego State, and Florida Atlantic made up three of the Four. In recent years, Gonzaga, St Peter’s, Florida Gulf Coast and Loyola-Chicago have made deep runs. Most of football’s Power Fives haven’t approached that yet. A game with primarily ten players on the court at one time becomes more competitive with equivalent talent than with a game needing 22 players on the field at one time. Hopefully, they will let that basketball tradition to remain intact.
What NCAA boneheads lack: Foresight
I fear the outcome of what the NCAA boneheads have allowed to destroy the competitiveness of college football. If the future of college football results as I reported in the first of my two essays at the end of my book, “Vision of the Future,” I will probably care less about The Super Conference or whatever it will become or its championship outcome. Like many, I’ve already lost most of my interest in pro football. For me, that was mostly because of my attachment to the college game. Other fans indicate other reasons. Domination by few of many doesn’t bode well for fans who favor fair competition.
If the 40-48 move on to the professional route as I envision in this chapter, my focus will fall on what, if any competitive college football remains. Meaning I will follow the possibility of FCS, D2 and D3 remaining. Although they too will become minor leagues now to the highest levels. I like my football competitive no matter what the level. I just see the FBS becoming a bore, repetitive, predictable and another NFL. Best players no doubt, but they won’t be student-athletes attending classes. The game will only be driven financially in every aspect.
Plans? Solutions?
My second and final essay in the book is entitled, “For the Love of the Game.” In it, I offer plans and solutions to make the game more competitive. Making it better for more players and fans of their favorite teams comprise my objective. I offer some controls that the NCAA boneheads could have and should have considered. At least they should have analyzed before they decided and implemented these changes. Instead, they took a weak approach – let’s do this and see what happens.
Of course, as I mentioned, a core group of this membership probably whole-heartedly agreed with the changes. They sat back and saw the financial benefits they were hoping for all along. After that, they picked up the phone and called their state legislature, probably an alumnus. They informed them what the despicable NCAA was going to do to thwart the improvement of their beloved football program. Their plans seem to be working perfectly for what they want.
Steve Koreivo, ed. Member of Football Writer’s Association of America
