FBS Programs Should Break Away From NCAA, says Knight Commission Report

December 18, 2020 by footballfoundation.com

The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame reached out to Chuck Neinas for his thoughts on last week's Knight Commission Report, which recommended that the football teams in Football Bowl Subdivision govern themselves as a separate entity from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
 
Neinas, an emeritus member of the NFF Board, served as assistant executive director of the NCAA for ten years, and he was commissioner of the Big Eight Conference and later the Big 12 Conference. He served as the executive director of the College Football Association (CFA) from 1977-97, including the 1984 landmark University of Georgia-University of Oklahoma lawsuit against the NCAA, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. The court decision probably had the greatest impact on college football in the last 50 years as it opened up the marketplace for the colleges themselves to sell their own television rights.
 
The Knight Commission, an advisory group of university presidents, former athletic directors and others, conducted a year-long study of the current college athletics environment, making its non-binding recommendations in a report on Dec.3. The CFA proposed addressing many of the same issues more than forty years ago, including the formation of a new body to govern the top schools.
 
Have you read the Knight Commission Report?
I enjoyed the name, the National College Football Association. I think we should sue them for taking our name. [Laughter.] Unfortunately, we don't have any legal rights to it. [More Laughter.]
 
What do you think of the Knight Commission Report and proposal for a new governing body?
It's inevitable. Back in the 1970s, the NCAA had a voting structure where all members, regardless of size of program, voted on the legislation. And in 1973, the NCAA put in rules, limiting the number of grants-in-aid you could have in sports and the number of coaches who could be employed. The major programs found that they were in the minority. And there was an effort to restructure the NCAA because those who were not as endowed, obviously, wanted to vote to put limits that would hurt those who had the more advanced programs.
 
So, what happened was the NCAA twice tried to get the voting structure changed into divisional voting with three divisions, and you would be categorized based upon the size and type of program. Well, those measures failed to pass at two NCAA conventions.
 
As a result, the College Football Association was formed primarily as a lobbying organization, because we came to the conclusion that if we did not stay together, we would be out voted, and we would be in the minority on most votes. So once the CFA was formed, one of the first things we did was to use what leverage we had to highlight the need for divisional voting.
 
Well, at that time, they talked about Division I, II, and III. Bob James, who was the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the time, said hell there should be a Division IV because we know who we are. And that's the way it's been ever since. The CFA had 63 members, which were basically the major conferences in those days, plus 15 major independents like Penn State, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Notre Dame, and Syracuse, who were all independent at that time, and they were members of the CFA.
 
What happened next and where are we now?
Everybody wanted to be in Division I. And now you have a situation where the differences between institutions in the Power Five conferences and some, but not all, in the Group of Five are fairly significant. And I noticed that one of the members of the Knight Commission indicated that the establishment of a new type of organization would allow some of those, who realized that they were over their head financially, could find a way to be involved in a program that would be more responsible than trying to keep up with those who have the benefit of large TV contracts, etc.
 
I think that it's inevitable that this would occur simply because of the diversity of programs, even as it exists now, in the football bowl system. In addition to the power of five conference members, there are others who deserve to be in that structure. For example, you can't ignore Cincinnati or BYU or programs like that who have definitely proven themselves to be high quality.
 
What makes the progression inevitable? What role does money play?
There's such a difference in resources. For example, it was the Power Five that really fought for the idea of cost of attendance. As a result, they became what is called the Autonomous Five, which gave them a weighted vote within the NCAA structure, so that allowed them to move forward with the cost of attendance. Obviously, the Power Five can more easily afford it than some of the other football playing institutions. You can't ignore the fact there is a significant difference in revenue.
 
And also, you cannot ignore the fact that the popularity of the sport is broader than just the Power Five conferences. And that's one thing, which I hope we will never lose sight of is that other divisions play good football, too. And it's not just the Oklahomas, Notre Dames, the Ohio States and Alabamas. There is quality football played in the FCS, Division II and Division III. Those of us interested in football don't want to see anything that will damage the sport. I think this would be a healthy change because it would accommodate people to be where they properly belong.
 
Why do you think a change would be beneficial?
A number of football program currently in the FBS are there because they like to see the name of their college streaming across your TV set. But in this day and age when higher education is confronted with financial problems, many institutions rely on state aid, student fees and institutional support to be able to fund an athletic program. They've got to find a way to solve the financial dilemma and save the program. Trying to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak, is a prescription for them to fail.
 
What will be the impact on Olympic sports?
All institutions are having to make some kind of adjustments. You've seen coaches and directors and everybody taking a salary cut and furloughing employees because of the pandemic and not filling positions. And some institutions are already eliminating sports because they can't meet the budget otherwise.
 
With higher education in the financial difficulty that it currently finds itself because of the pandemic, you have to recognize that there are other things that are going to have come before college athletics when it comes to financing an institution. There is going to have to be some accommodation.
 
As one athletic director indicated to me, he would rather see developing an active and high-quality club sports program that provides an opportunity to compete, even though it would not be at the intercollegiate level. There's going to have to be a lot of analysis. I think the glory days of college athletics as we've known it, may be over. I also read that the amount of debt associated with facility improvements is staggering. And those bondholders expect to collect their money every month. So, all those things factor into the financial pressures, which currently exist in higher education and, as a result, in college athletics.
 
All of this lends itself even more to recognizing and distinguishing the differences between programs…. The Olympic sports may have to rely on outside income from the national governing bodies and the Olympic Committee to maintain the program.
 
What would be the impact on the NCAA? Is it viable for football to leave and not basketball?
When the CFA talked about establishing a division within the NCAA, or if necessary, a separate organization that would accommodate major college football, but retain participation in all other sports in the NCAA, we [concluded] that could be easily accommodated. And I would say that the NCAA would definitely want that. Because if you look at the great attraction of March Madness, it is the diversity of programs that participate…. And I think it would be absolutely foolish to do anything that would damage March Madness.
 
Are we at an inflection point right now because of the pandemic, the Name Image & Likeness issue and other factors that make this a seminal moment on par with the 1984 changes?
College athletics in general, is confronted with a real challenge because of the pandemic. Many institutions are offering courses online only, so you've got dormitories vacant, and universities still have to pay for the dormitories and the dining hall… The breadth of the impact on higher education is significant. I just read enrollment is down 16% this year. If I'm a student at a high-priced private institution, am I going to pay $65,000 to sit at home for online courses? I don't think people fully understand the financial challenges on higher ed. And the states don't have money. They're asking the federal government for money because the states are challenged because of the pandemic, too. It's a real significant challenge.
 
Do you think the Name Image & Likeness issue is a driving force in this discussion right now?
No. [The major colleges] are going to be the ones confronted with it more than anybody else. That's obvious. But if you talk to people who are concerned about it, the concern is how it's going to be involved in recruiting.
 
[But NIL] is just one of the issues. Another factor is the transfer portal. If approved in January, a student can transfer and remain eligible. But, as one coach told me, that means I have to recruit my squad every week. The coaches are concerned about how they maintain roster management.
 
Thinking back to the formation of the CFA more than 40 years ago, it was inevitable that there would be a change to accommodate major college football. The bottom line is major college football requires the opportunity to regulate itself unencumbered.
 
Why has it taken more than 40 years for this change to happen?
The NCAA and a majority its members are concerned that having a group of its most visible members forming a separate division or organization would weaken the NCAA. The time has come, however, for those involved in major college football to govern themselves while still maintaining involvement with the NCAA in sports other than football.
 
The CFA was a precursor to establishing the Autonomy Five conferences, and now there's a Knight Commission saying it needs to be better defined.