G5 Conferences Should Break Away From the NCAA

The Satellite
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When expansion time comes starting in 2023, if the Power 5 conferences do not expand adding Group of 5 schools, rather than P5 schools switching conferences, I think the G5 conferences should break away from the NCAA and form their own national collegiate association. It could be called something like the American Collegiate Athletics or ACA for short using the model similar to pro sports with a commissioner. All schools will be on a level playing field and have no sub-level conferences or divisions.

The NCAA and P5 schools rule under a good-ole-boy system where they are not inclusive, do not want to change and do not want to share the wealth.

Maybe not in the first few years but I think the ACA would be a serious competitor to the P5 in terms of attracting top athletes, coaches and getting very good TV deals.

  • Some current G5 schools can pay head coaches $5M or more a year. That would have happened if Tom Herman had stayed at the University of Houston. If the ACA thing happens, its schools will make coaches salaries competitive to the P5.
  • One way to attract top talent is to let athletes cash in on their name, likeness and autographs. Of course this would have to be managed properly and rules set in place but some of the P5 schools will be making $50M next year and you say the cost of the scholarship is fair. That top talent will come in droves to the ACA.
  • If the ACA schools are attracting top athletes and coaches, people are going to want to see it, which brings us to “eyeballs on the screen”. This is what TV networks want to happen in order to give conferences big money. The ACA will be laughing all the way to the bank.
  • Oh, did I mention that football should have a real playoff system? Maybe a 16 team playoff with a 10 or 11 game regular season.

I know all of this is wishful thinking but if P5 conferences snub UH, UCF, USF and other G5 power players, I think the G5 schools should seriously consider doing this. Right now the G5 schools are only making 1 to 3M a year while P5 makes 20-$50M a year. Do you think it’s fair that Baylor, Iowa State and other schools like those should get $30M a year while UH gets $3M?

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This is exactly what the P5 want, to get rid of us.

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It’s good in theory, but there aren’t enough strong enough G5 schools to make this a reality. While most of the AAC, and a few of the MWC, could stand to try something like this, the rest of the G5 isn’t going to be willing to stop sucking the teet of the P5. Most of those schools earn a large portion of their athletic budgets by playing “bodybag” games against P5 schools; moving away from them wouldn’t get them that kind of money initially, if at all.

The other aspect to consider is what happens to all of the other sports if these schools were to leave? Remember, this isn’t just about football and Title IX applies whether the schools are members of the NCAA or not. Would the P5 schools allow the G5 schools to still be members in the other sports…if so, I imagine there will be consequences.

Unfortunately, the P5 schools basically run the show due to gaining autonomy. The other conferences had a chance to vote against it, but decided to give them that power as they were afraid those schools would branch off away from the NCAA. That’s still the fear for a number of them.

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