Tension is growing across the college sports landscape between major conferences and the NCAA. This comes as revenue sharing, name image and likeness licensing and athletic compensation guidelines continue to evolve. Last week, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin sounded off on the possibility of the SEC operating outside NCAA governance.
The sentiment exists among conference officials that the SEC and other power conferences might eventually seek greater autonomy to manage athletics independently. Stricklin and the Florida administration appear focused on preparing for scenarios in which governance models change rapidly.
A secession model would likely further incorporate power among the wealthiest conferences and athletic departments, a group that includes Florida with its massive financial structure supporting high-level competition. The institution is well-positioned if a shift toward one super-conference becomes a reality. Florida’s resources, brand strength and SEC alignment give it a unique advantage.
“The only way you solve this is if there’s a federal bill that really works, and that’s kind of hoping lightning strikes and creates Noah’s Ark,” Stricklin explained. “But the courts have said repeatedly that conferences cannot collude to create overarching restrictions, but individual conferences can create their own rules and their own restrictions. So, let’s go down that path.”
“Our league probably has enough appeal and market strength that we could survive. We may be the only league that could do that,” Stricklin went on to say.
“The most popular sports league in the world is Premier League Soccer, and it is basically in one country. And that country is half the size of land territory and half the population of the 12 states where the SEC is. Yet it has TV contracts from Asia to America. And likewise, I think our conference, even though we’re regional, we have national appeal.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida AD discusses path for SEC to break away from NCAA
Reporting by Michael Long, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michael Long, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
