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An Interesting Look at the NCAA, NIL, and Expansion

cincibuck
Well, yeah, the guy's from UM and therefore a pompous ass, but it's an interesting take on big time college sports:

By Jordan Acker
Mr. Acker is an elected regent of the University of Michigan and served as chair from 2021 to 2022. He is a partner at the Goodman Acker law firm, and a consultant on college athletics and governance.

College sports are in a state of upheaval. As of 2025, the century-old Pacific 12 Conference will no longer exist for all intents and purposes, as U.C.L.A., U.S.C., the University of Washington and the University of Oregon have decamped for bigger paychecks from the Big Ten Conference, and Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley will henceforth compete in the now ironically named Atlantic Coast Conference.
Adjustments like these are not entirely new. Before the University of Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, it was a member of the Western Interstate University Football Association, the Big Eight (once briefly known as the Big Six and the Big Seven), and the Big 12 Conference. But these changes used to be about regional or academic affinity. The recent creation of new national super conferences, however, is about one thing: getting the biggest television audience — and the biggest payout.
This past year, the Big Ten signed a seven-year, $7 billion contract with CBS, NBC and Fox. Football was already a huge business for many large state universities. But now that TV executives with no interest in academics are influencing these decisions, conferences that were once schools of similar academic value and region have been dragged into direct competition, regardless of the impact it has on student athletes.
This is a money grab, and a shameful time for all of us involved in college athletics and higher education. As regents, trustees, presidents and athletic directors, we promised to focus on our universities as academic institutions first and sponsors of intercollegiate athletics second. We failed.

The problem has been the lack of direction and vision from the so-called grown-ups in the room — the National Collegiate Athletic Association. For decades, N.C.A.A. member institutions have spent their valuable time arguing (and losing) before courts and pleading on Capitol Hill for special protections of their “amateur” model, in which student athletes play their sport purely for the enjoyment of the activity, all while their coaches and administrators make millions.
Most recently, the N.C.A.A. and its members spent years trying to prevent two changes to the collegiate athletics model. One was the allowance of Name Image and Likeness compensation, which is essentially the ability of student athletes to engage in and be paid for outside advertising deals. The other was the widespread use by football and basketball players of the transfer portal, a website that allows student athletes to announce their interest in switching to another college so that coaches from other institutions can reach out, as they sometimes do in mere minutes. The N.C.A.A. says both changes do grave harm to the beloved model.

While Charlie Baker, the N.C.A.A.’s president, lobbies for one unpassable bill after another, his supporters repeat talking points about how the enterprise that has mismanaged college sports for generations should be saved for the good of American society and the academic mission of universities. At the same time, the Big Ten Conference, flush with millions of dollars of new TV revenue, helped destroy the Pacific 12 Conference, a more than 100-year-old institution and for years its “sister conference.”
There is nothing amateur about a model that negotiates billion-dollar deals and pays its coaches and administrators millions while denying athletes the ability to share in the revenue or even to have a voice in determining whether these deals are a good idea. The Southeastern Conference just agreed to a 10-year, $300-million-per-year deal with Disney, which owns ESPN, for its TV rights. This hypocrisy is too much to bear.
The steps that universities like mine — large institutions with prominent athletic departments and football programs — should take are clear: First, they should meet to consider how a revenue-sharing model would work within the current structure of the N.C.A.A., and release their plan for how to grant players employee or quasi-employee status. Second, if the N.C.A.A. is unwilling or unable to help schools through this dramatic transition, they should leave and found their own organization, similar to how the English Premier League broke away from the rest of English soccer in 1992. They can create a more efficient model with a sustainable infrastructure to protect the interests of student athletes.

College football teams get chartered planes and nice hotels. But for Olympic sports like field hockey, track and field, and crew, which most athletes play, flying commercial is the norm. For a University of Michigan team to travel to a game at the University of Oregon, for example, requires over seven and a half hours of travel on Delta Airlines, with a layover in Salt Lake City or Seattle. That’s longer than a flight from Detroit to London. As part of the Big Ten Conference, a Rutgers volleyball player might fly more than 2,800 miles to compete in a game at the University of Washington on a Tuesday, before returning for a Wednesday morning exam. Calling this amateur or college athletics is simply laughable. Many student athletes rarely have the chance to step foot in a classroom, attending their classes online and taking proctored exams in hotel ballrooms near the next game site.

The only way any of it can begin to make sense is if players get a percentage of the money that conferences make off that labor.
There are a number of ways it could happen. For example, all student athletes at the University of Michigan would become employees or independent contractors of the Big Ten Conference, and would receive a percentage of the $59 million or so each member school makes per year from TV rights. Another model would involve the networks directly engaging in name, image and likeness deals with student athletes from major conferences, allowing these student athletes to make a guaranteed income without increasing their time commitment significantly. Say the Big Ten required its TV partners to share 30 percent of its revenues with its student athletes, each athlete would receive a percentage of that. At Michigan, where roughly 900 athletes compete in Ann Arbor, that would mean a wide receiver or field hockey player would get approximately $20,000 per year.

In early August, during the latest round of Big Ten expansion, I heard from leaders from across other power conferences — from university presidents to athletic directors and coaches — several of whom agreed with a plan for revenue sharing. Two current Big Ten Football coaches, Iowa’s head coach, Kirk Ferentz, and Michigan’s coach, Jim Harbaugh, have already expressed support for revenue sharing. It’s time for leaders who agree privately to help create a critical mass of support. The N.C.A.A.’s rules on revenue sharing are driven by their members; this change will not come from the N.C.A.A.’s home base of Indianapolis, but from leaders at member institutions speaking frankly about the challenges to come. It must also take into account the input of student athletes, who are too often shut out of decisions that directly affect them.

Make no mistake, the courts are judging the Big Ten Conference, and the other major N.C.A.A.’ conferences, on their behavior. As Justice Brett Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court wrote in a concurring opinion to the landmark 2021 N.C.A.A. v. Alston decision, “[n]owhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate . . . The N.C.A.A. is not above the law.”

With several other cases pending, the status quo is crumbling quickly. If the governing bodies and universities do not choose to reform soon, the courts, tired of the hypocrisy, will force their hand.
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Google NO. 9 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH HOST NO. 6 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES IN TOP TEN SHOWDOWN THIS SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK - NBC Sports Press

NO. 9 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH HOST NO. 6 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES IN TOP TEN SHOWDOWN THIS SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK - NBC Sports Pressbox
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".

NO. 9 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH HOST NO. 6 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES IN TOP TEN SHOWDOWN THIS SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK NBC Sports Pressbox

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LGHL Buckeyes standing pat with their defensive line recruiting plan as the 2024 cycle narrows down

Buckeyes standing pat with their defensive line recruiting plan as the 2024 cycle narrows down
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Syndication: South Bend Tribune

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State has yet to offer in-state native Brian Robinson, and doesn’t look like that will change.

It’s no secret how big this Saturday's matchup against Notre Dame is. Though the first three games of the season were important in their own right, it’s also true that each contest was a step towards building for this game. No, the Buckeyes aren’t a finished product yet or maybe even close to that, but with the team taking shape a little more each weekend, one of the most talented rosters in the college landscape looks ready for this primetime tilt.

Ryan Day and staff know this is one of the bigger opportunities this season, and while winning on the field is the first priority, the other aspects that can come with a win are pretty exciting too. Facing off in front of several recruits both Ohio State and Notre Dame are after, this is another chance where the Buckeyes can take the upper hand and show why Columbus is the place to be.

The stakes are high for just a Week 4 game, but a win here really could propel this team into a really successful season.

An in-state defensive end looks to be headed to the SEC​


With 23 current commits in the 2024 recruiting class, Ohio State only has a few more spots left up for grabs. The nation’s second-ranked class, the coaching staff is looking to add a few more elite talents, and one position that will continue to see attention is the defensive line. Five-stars Justin Scott and Eddrick Houston lead the way in terms of highlighting the talent already brought in, but position coach Larry Johnson is still looking to add at least one more if the right player wants in.

Maybe shedding some light more than anything else in regard to Ohio State’s plan of action, in-state prospect Brian Robinson is trending elsewhere now more than ever. The four-star defensive end has long been a player that many have wondered why Ohio State has yet to offer, and with multiple Crystal Ball predictions submitted this week for Robinson to end up at Kentucky, it seems as if this one is final for where the Buckeyes stand.

Typically a guy ranked as the No. 93 player nationally and the seventh-best edge rusher in the class per the 247Sports Composite would see an offer from his in-state school, but the two parties have never struck a deal. For any number of reasons, whether it be a fit in the scheme, etc., the Buckeyes haven’t pulled the trigger, and that likely shows that the staff still feels good about some of their options.

At this point, it does look as if the Robinson sweepstakes is officially over, as Ohio State stands pat and the Westerville North product continues to trend toward the SEC.

Buckeyes impress 2024 receiver target​


Knowing the turnover after this season could be plentiful, Ohio State is still actively recruiting a fourth receiver in this class if the right option is interested. Having the top haul of receivers in the country for the 100th consecutive season — or so it seems — Hartline really is crushing it on the trail, and wouldn’t mind landing just one more guy for his current 2024 class.

Florida’s Chance Robinson continues to be the name mentioned the most as the desired target. The current Miami commit has been on the radar for some time now, and his trip to Ohio State this past weekend looks to have gone really well as he was able to bring his family along with him.

Hinting towards how much of a priority he is for Hartline and Ohio State down the stretch, Chance took time to speak with Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts. From his quotes, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a return trip later this fall, primarily on the weekend where Penn State is in town.

If the Buckeyes can get him on campus yet again, that may be the tipping point for Ohio State to flip his commitment. Until then, it’s continued efforts to make it happen for the No. 151 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite.

Quick Hits​

  • As it gets closer to being the 2025 class, the Buckeyes are already working tirelessly on their next cycle on the blocks. Making some headway with multiple guys on their leaderboard, on Wednesday Jeremy Birmingham of Rivals revealed that 2025 safety target Faheem Delane is in a great spot with Ohio State.

Going as far as to say the Buckeyes are currently his “favorite staff”, it looks as if the No. 48 player nationally and the fifth ranked safety per the 247Sports Composite is all about Ohio State right now. Missing out on the last few national safety targets, the Buckeyes are heavily in the mix now and would love nothing more than to lock this one down early.

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Google Buckeyes standing pat with their defensive line recruiting plan as the 2024 cycle narrows down - Land Grant Holy Land

Buckeyes standing pat with their defensive line recruiting plan as the 2024 cycle narrows down - Land Grant Holy Land
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".

Buckeyes standing pat with their defensive line recruiting plan as the 2024 cycle narrows down Land Grant Holy Land

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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman knows his team much better than he did last time they faced Ohio State

Uncut Podcast: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman knows his team much better than he did last time they faced Ohio State
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Screenshot_2023_09_20_at_3.23.58_PM.0.png


Sam Hartman compares Saturday’s matchup to games from his time in the ACC.

Throughout the year, the Land-Grant Podcast Network will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:


Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

On today’s episode of “Land-Grant Uncut,” we are bringing you unedited audio from Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman and starting quarterback Sam Hartman from their respective Monday, Sept. 18 press conferences. In the Irish’s weekly press conference heading into their primetime matchup with Ohio State this coming Saturday, Freeman conceded that when the two teams met up last year, he was unsure of what to expect from his team, given it was the season opener and his first true game as the ND head coach.

The former Buckeye admits that he attempted to take the air out of the ball in order to keep it away from the OSU offense, but he has a much better understanding of who his team is coming into Game No. 5 of the 2023 campaign. His new quarterback, who transferred from Wake Forest this off-season, discussed how this game compares to those he played in the ACC.

Watch the complete press conference on Notre Dame Athletic’s official Facebook page: Login to view embedded media

Contact Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

Music by: www.bensound.com​


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