the BigAmateurism monologues

On August 17, 2022, the NCAA released a statement titled “DI Council reviews transfer proposals.” The Council accepted recommendations from two obscure committees (Independent Accountability Oversight Committee and Infractions Process Committee) to eliminate the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP). The IARP was a separate infraction and enforcement process for “high stakes” NCAA c...

Last week saw a cluster of college sports “news” stories that had texts and emails flying. The story that spawned the most interest was a new “bipartisan” NIL-related federal legislative effort led by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Sports Illustrated broke the story Wednesday afternoon, August 3rd. Then SI also reported on the re-release of the Athletes Bill of Rights spon...

Big-time college sports are a market defined by anticompetitive behavior. The NCAA and Power 5 conferences believe they should not have to play by the same rules as any other industry in America. They believe—and have always believed—that they are above the law. This episode analyzes the grant of rights contracts through the lens of restraints on competition among and between Power 5 conferences a...

In Realignment 2.0, schools in Power 5 conferences looking to leave their current conference must factor into their decision-making an arcane but powerful contractual barrier: the grant of rights. Grant of rights contracts create stability in the Power 5 conference structure and disincentivize schools from changing conferences. These contracts came into use in big-time college sports after the fir...

The dominoes are in place. How many will fall? This episode examines the big-picture implications of the most recent Power 5 backstab. As is often the case in college sports, past is prologue. The evolution and influence of the television era in college sports towers over the values of higher education and the “integrity of college sports.” Say goodbye to collegiality, respect for conference contr...

On June 29th, the Big 12 Conference’s university presidents and chancellors hired sports and entertainment industry insider Brett Yormark as the Big 12's new conference commissioner. Yormark has no professional experience in higher education. In its announcement of the hire, the Big 12 lauds Yormark’s impressive credentials as the chief operating officer of Roc Nation, the chief executive officer...

One year ago, I published Episode 35 titled “Independence Day.” Today, I reprise that episode to refocus on the importance of applying our inalienable natural and American rights of liberty, equality, and economic self-determination to the athletes in college sports who give the revenue-producing products their value. Events of the last two weeks, including renewal of conference realignment and an...

One year ago, the US Supreme Court issued what many view as a landmark decision in NCAA v Alston. The Supreme Court held unanimously that the NCAA was not entitled to antitrust immunity. For nearly forty years post-Board of Regents, the NCAA has successfully used off-hand language from that case as a shield from liability in lawsuits challenging the NCAA’s amateurism-based compensation limits or i...

In a trilogy of cases since late 2014, athletes claim they are employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA provides minimum wage and overtime standards for hourly workers. The purpose of the FLSA is distinct from and more limited than the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which provides an avenue for workers to have a say in their work conditions through collective bar...

On May 19th, the Drake Group hosted a panel discussion titled “Giving College Athletes the Right to Unionize.” An impressive panel of commentators—Bob Costas, Michael Hausfeld, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Andy Zimbalist (moderator), and Kaiya McCollough—shared their thoughts on athletes as employees and the possibility of collective bargaining through the lens of Sen. Murphy’s federal bill, the Coll...

Last week the California Senate and NJ Democrat Senator Cory Booker buried the only two revenue-sharing proposals in the state or federal legislative landscape. The California bill, the “College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act,” did not survive banishment to the Appropriation Committee’s “suspense file” (discussed in Episodes 113 and 117). The bill was designed to remedy the race-based financia...

College sports now exist in a vacuum of leadership, self-regulation, and values-based messaging. The NCAA national office is collapsing under the weight of its arrogance and incompetence, while the Power 5—through the Transformation Committee—is beginning to sound more like Mark Emmert and the worn-out NCAA propaganda machine. The regulatory crisis is particularly acute in the Power 5’s attempts t...

Yesterday, the California Senate’s Appropriation Committee sent the “College Athlete Race and Gender Equity” revenue-sharing bill into the legislative equivalent of a black hole known as the “Suspense File.” This quirky procedure removes the bill from open debate and leaves its fate in the hands of a tiny group of Senators and staffers. This process is opaque and unpredictable. While the public ca...

On May 5th, 2022, Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took to the halls of the Senate to seek “help” from Congress in the form of protective federal legislation that would eliminate the athletes’ rights movement. When it comes to college sports regulation, Cantwell and Blackburn are two of the most influential people in the Senate. Cantwell—a Democrat— is the Chai...

Last Wednesday, the NCAA flushed 70 years of militant anti-gambling rhetoric and policy down the memory hole by permitting conferences and individual schools to partner with the sports betting industry. The announcement didn’t register as even a blip on the sports or mainstream media’s radar. The NCAA’s once-sacred values opposing any association with sports gambling interests vanished into thin a...

Yesterday, Mark Emmert announced his resignation as NCAA president. For many, this is a long-overdue announcement. Important questions remain regarding the future of the Association and its leadership going forward. This episode analyzes the decision, its timing, Emmert’s tenure, and the qualification criteria for the next NCAA president. Note: The opening montage quotes are: 1. Senator Marsha Bla...

On April 20, 2022, the California Senate’s Education Committee heard debate on the College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act (the “Act”). The bill was authored and sponsored by state Senator Stephen Bradford who co-sponsored California’s 2019 name, image, and likeness law. The Act’s essential component is a revenue-sharing framework where athletes may receive payments directly related to their at...

According to a recent article in Sportico, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) has asked the NCAA for “clarity” on whether the MAC’s contract with Genius Sports violates the NCAA’s anti-sports betting rules. This episode analyzes the cynical ways the NCAA and major conferences are normalizing betting on college sports and the massive revenue bonanza that will flow from that normalization.

On April 12th, Tom McMillan appeared in a forum for university trustees titled “Name, Image, and Likeness(“NIL”): What it Means for College Governing Boards. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni hosted the forum. McMillan was a former member of the University of Maryland Board of Trustees. Since 2015, McMillan has been CEO of Lead1, a trade association for 131 FBS athletics directors, inclu...

History may remember the 2022 Final Four for what happened outside the arena than within it. Will Mark Emmert’s press conference disaster(s) be the beginning of the end of his tenure as NCAA President? Will Kansas’ national championship insulate it from a harsh ruling by the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution hearing panel? What does Bob Bowlsby’s decision to step down as Big 12 conferen...

On March 31st, Mark Emmert sat for his annual Final Four press conference. Coach K warmed up Emmert’s seat in his presser immediately preceding Emmert’s. Coach K—not one to mince words when annoyed—threw some serious shade at Emmert. Coach K asked the same question plaguing Emmert’s tenure from the beginning in 2010: who is in charge, and where is the college sports ship heading? True to his purpo...

According to the college sports commentariat, this year’s Final Four may be the most compelling (and valuable) in the tournament’s history. After a feel-good run by St. Peter’s, the tournament has reverted—as always—to its basketball blue blood standard-bearers: Duke, Kansas, UNC, and Villanova. The college sports ecosystem is in a feeding frenzy to capitalize on these Final Four athletes’ unique...

In a March 17th, 2022, podcast interview, former UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp (2008-2013) spoke candidly on the state of college sports and the power of the NCAA’s amateurism lie. In 2010, Thorp and UNC became embroiled in an academic scandal that consumed the university for years. Thorp was among the many casualties of that scandal. The interview, conducted on Dr. Karen Weaver’s podcast titled Tru...

For nearly seventy years, the NCAA militantly opposed any association with any component of the gambling industry. Now, with the NCAA’s/Power 5’s amateurism model in question, Big Amateurism is normalizing its burgeoning relationship with Big Gambling. On the backside of a 2018 US Supreme Court decision striking down a 1992 federal anti-gambling law (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act)...

In a Sportico opinion piece this morning, Syracuse professor and faculty athletics representative Rick Burton argued that college sports need a Churchillian savior. Burton concludes that “21st century realities mean an empire of athletic enterprise is under siege, and a visionary hero might come in handy.” Burton’s Churchill shortlist is Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, Big East Commissio...