While the House of Representatives considers whether student-athletes should be considered employees of their universities, a group of small-school leaders is looking to rewrite how college sports are run.
At the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors’ annual conference earlier this month, members of the Football Championship Subdivision and Division I-AAA (football-free schools like Gonzaga) proposed a model that would give athletes “more of a say” in how things are run and potentially offer them the opportunity to earn credits toward sports degrees without having to resort to legal action, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The goal is to give players more power and treat them like students, not employees. Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board determined that Dartmouth had enough control over its men’s basketball players that they met the definition of employees. The school appealed the case.
The new model aims to remove some of the control schools have over student-athletes. According to the Associated Press, a “no-no” for a coach might be to cut a player from the team or push them into a certain major as punishment. Other potential provisions could include time commitments, rules on off-field participation and recreational drug testing.
The small school proposal comes less than a week after a U.S. House committee approved a bill that would prohibit student-athletes from being considered employees of their schools, conferences or governing bodies like the NCAA, so the bill now heads to the House for a vote or debate.
There are 128 FCS programs and approximately 90 schools with basketball-focused programs without football. The West Coast Conference does not sponsor Division I football (San Diego fields a football team in the Pioneer Football League). The Big East, in particular, is considered a strong conference in terms of league success in men’s basketball, despite the lack of football.
While the fallout from the House v. NCAA lawsuit is still far from over, the idea of classifying student-athletes as employees and eliminating amateurism in college sports is a concern shared by leaders of smaller conferences. According to a report from The Athletic, the Johnson v. NCAA lawsuit in support of classifying student-athletes as employees could mean doom for some athletic departments outside of the Power 5 if student-athletes were to unionize and become eligible for minimum wage and overtime pay.
The NCAA and its member schools are exploring other ways to generate additional revenue and offset some of the damages after agreeing to a landmark $2.8 billion settlement in three antitrust lawsuits. One way the NCAA is considering is expanding the NCAA Tournament to 72 or 76 teams.
The Big 12 could take matters into its own hands by pursuing a unique private equity investment that could raise up to $1 billion from a Luxembourg-based company. The league is also reportedly considering selling naming rights to the highest bidder, following in the footsteps of Conferences USA, American and Mountain West.
