New D1 Subdivision--the Beginning of the Split?
- By ScriptOhio
- College Football
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Skull Session: Ross Bjork Wins His Introductory Press Conference, The NCAA’s Proposed Subdivision Costs Millions and C.J. Stroud is a Rookie of the Year Finalist
Ross Bjork wins his press conference, the NCAA’s proposed subdivision would cost Ohio State millions and C.J. Stroud is a Pepsi Rookie of the Year finalist.
www.elevenwarriors.com
COUNT THE COST. On Dec. 5, 2023, NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed the creation of a new subdivision within Division I that would allow the highest-resource schools the ability to compensate athletes from trust funds and NIL.
The proposal, which Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach obtained, featured several recommendations for NCAA Division I members to consider:
- The formation of a new subdivision made up of institutions with the highest resources that can directly compensate athletes through an “enhanced educational trust fund,” which requires the schools that opt into it an investment of at least $30,000 per year per athlete for at least half of the school’s eligible athletes. Schools would have to adhere to Title IX, providing equal monetary opportunities for female and male athletes.
- Schools in the new subdivision could create their own rules separate from the rest of Division I. Those rules would allow them the ability to address policies such as scholarship limits and roster size, as well as transfers and NIL.
- Any Division I school would be able to enter into an NIL deal with its athletes directly. This is not currently permissible under NCAA rules.
- Any Division I school would be able to distribute to any athlete funding related to educational benefits without any caps on such compensation.
While Baker's proposal could use a few tweaks, what would happen if the plan came into effect before the 2024 college football season? How much would Ohio State spend to enter the “elite subdivision”?“The highest resource institutions are different. Finally, the NCAA acknowledged that. We have a leader in Charlie Baker who has at least acknowledged that as a starting point. All the programs with over $100 million budgets are different. ... To me, the highest resource institutions can house a lot of these key elements – financial, player relationships and player negotiations. That's the model we have to get to. What that looks like and how that works will be determined.”
The Washington Post added up the cost for the Buckeyes: $14.3 million – the most among all colleges and universities.
ESTIMATED COST TO JOIN NEW SUBDIVISION
SCHOOL | ATHLETES | MINIMUM COST | 2022 REVENUE | % OF REVENUE |
---|---|---|---|---|
OHIO STATE | 950 | $14.3 M | $251.6 M | 5.7% |
MICHIGAN | 853 | $12.8 M | $210.7 M | 6.1% |
PENN STATE | 792 | $11.9 M | $181.2 M | 6.6% |
NORTH CAROLINA | 771 | $11.6 M | $122.6 M | 9.4% |
CALIFORNIA | 745 | $11.2 M | $109.6 M | 9.5% |
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