This has been discussed for months, and frankly I am not deep enough into it to understand all the repercussions. The NCAA is not going away, but it will allow the separate Divisions (I, II and III) to each set its own guidelines as how to enforce its rules. A final vote is in January, and everyone expects it to pass. It requires all divisions to allow NIL, but each division can set up its system how to regulate it. And each division can create self rules of monitoring violations of NCAA rules... which hopefully will lead to faster enforcement.
I am not sure of all the consequences and I look to others for input. There are some who believe that this is a big deal. I honestly don't know. I think the biggest new rule is that if some members of Division I want to split into sub divisions within Division I, or create new divisions in Division I.... that will be allowable. I think the latter point is what is leading to the conjecture that the current Power 5 (or autonomous 5) can split from the current FBS 10 conference "organization" and create its own new playoff system. The NCAA never has, and still will not, name a national champion for Division I. The word "playoff" does not exist in the NCAA college football Division I vernacular. The current playoff system has been created by and controlled by the 10 FBS commissioners and the ND AD. It will take a unanimous vote of this "Group of 11" to agree to a playoff expansion if they want to start two years early in 2024 (the current contract ends at the end of the 2025 season). But if that vote does not happen (and the last chance to have that vote to expand the playoffs early is in January and it does not seem likely to pass), then Div I will have to create a new playoff system from scratch that will start in 2026. The "Group of 11" doesn't really exist past the 2025 season (the last year of the current playoff system). We all know that ESPN is the sole broadcaster of the current playoff system, but when the current contract ends, they will just be another bidder to whatever the new playoff system will be. We know FOX wants a share, and there are rumors that CBS does as well.
Not sure where this goes, and I am admittedly unaware of all the rule changes and certainly cannot guess the repercussions, if any. And the reason why I can't guess is as follows: Here is what I really don't know and never fully understood. How did the current schools in Division I get there? Was it just inertia? At some point in time, each current member of Division I must have taken an affirmative action to get there. And there were many independent schools that existed in Div I for years (FSU, Penn State, Miami, Tech, ND, BC, Syracuse, etc). When conferences were created, the members who initially joined were already Div I members. And I ask that, because it is unclear to me, if there is a movement to "sub divide Division I" into separate groups within Division I, is that a decision that a conference makes that binds all its members? Or, must there be an affirmative vote for each member to go to the "new" Division I sub group?
Or is all of this not a big deal at all?
I am not sure of all the consequences and I look to others for input. There are some who believe that this is a big deal. I honestly don't know. I think the biggest new rule is that if some members of Division I want to split into sub divisions within Division I, or create new divisions in Division I.... that will be allowable. I think the latter point is what is leading to the conjecture that the current Power 5 (or autonomous 5) can split from the current FBS 10 conference "organization" and create its own new playoff system. The NCAA never has, and still will not, name a national champion for Division I. The word "playoff" does not exist in the NCAA college football Division I vernacular. The current playoff system has been created by and controlled by the 10 FBS commissioners and the ND AD. It will take a unanimous vote of this "Group of 11" to agree to a playoff expansion if they want to start two years early in 2024 (the current contract ends at the end of the 2025 season). But if that vote does not happen (and the last chance to have that vote to expand the playoffs early is in January and it does not seem likely to pass), then Div I will have to create a new playoff system from scratch that will start in 2026. The "Group of 11" doesn't really exist past the 2025 season (the last year of the current playoff system). We all know that ESPN is the sole broadcaster of the current playoff system, but when the current contract ends, they will just be another bidder to whatever the new playoff system will be. We know FOX wants a share, and there are rumors that CBS does as well.
Not sure where this goes, and I am admittedly unaware of all the rule changes and certainly cannot guess the repercussions, if any. And the reason why I can't guess is as follows: Here is what I really don't know and never fully understood. How did the current schools in Division I get there? Was it just inertia? At some point in time, each current member of Division I must have taken an affirmative action to get there. And there were many independent schools that existed in Div I for years (FSU, Penn State, Miami, Tech, ND, BC, Syracuse, etc). When conferences were created, the members who initially joined were already Div I members. And I ask that, because it is unclear to me, if there is a movement to "sub divide Division I" into separate groups within Division I, is that a decision that a conference makes that binds all its members? Or, must there be an affirmative vote for each member to go to the "new" Division I sub group?
Or is all of this not a big deal at all?
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