Using AAA baseball isn't a good analogy. Different levels of teams in European soccer is more like it I would think. The NFL might be the higher league but there are millions of rabid followers of the lower tier teams.
I don't think the University Presidents are worried about the franchise value being diminished, I think they are looking to keep the money in house and ignoring the very obvious fact that the two missions do not align (Higher Education and Entertainment). Or they are just completely missing the writing on the wall (more likely).
I totally agree on your on your first point. The Premier League and the leagues below are a much, much, much better analogy. I just thought baseball would be more relatable for everyone. Also there is no question a franchise that is a perennial Premier League title contender is way more valuable then an English minor league team.
I agree with most of your second point except the last part. I think the university presidents at the Power Four Conferences look at the mess the NCAA has created in Division 1 and they are scared shit-less. Why? It is the money. Sports teams are the lubricant for the largess that the Power Four Members get from governments, their alumni base and their associated business community. Think about it, the $ 22.5M the are paying athletes is peanuts compared what they stand to lose.
Many people say just classify them as employees, certify union and get a CBA. The president are scared of that too for the exact same reason. Think about it how many businesses donate to an NFL team to increase that teams profits? Yes they will become official sponsors, but they don't donate and OSU has lots of official sponsors as it stands already. And what will happen to donations the first time that 1/2 of the college football season is eliminated because of a work stoppage? Especially alumni donations? They may not know for sure but they do not want to find out.
Money is the reason that the Power Four Conferences removed compensation from the NCAA's purview. It's why they created the CSC to enforce new regulations. It's why the CSC agreed to the compensation regime in the House Settlement. It's always about the money. It's also why they crafted the compensation regime in the House Settlement in a way that COULD (NOT WILL, COULD) receive approval from the courts. But that would be a topic for a different post.
