A4 Seek Control Over NCAA Championships, Including Management of NCAA Basketball Tournament

[uconnyankee]

The Indiana HS basketball tournament was arguably the most revered tournament in the country. The GOAT sports movie Hoosiers immortalized the David-and-Goliath free-for-all. And yet within 10 years of the film's release, they had restructured the tournament so that storyline could never happen again. Never overestimate nostalgia.

Exactly…. MONEY trumps all.

 

[Fishy]

The senators from Connecticut, New Jersey and Kansas…

This will totally work.

 

[How Sway?!]

The senators from Connecticut, New Jersey and Kansas…

This will totally work.

The idea is from Ted Cruz, senator from Texas. Definitely has legs to it

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The senators from Connecticut, New Jersey and Kansas…

This will totally work.

The B1G and SEC cover 25 unique states, leaving another 25 states without representation. Which means roughly half of US Senators represent constituents who are left out. That's a lot of folks, including:

• New York (largest state not represented)
• Arizona
• North Carolina
• Colorado
• Virginia (which has many ties to DC)
• Massachusetts

 

[CTBballfan243]

Maybe Connecticut can take the lead and sue the Presidents of all SEC and B1G schools. LOL

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The B1G and SEC cover 25 unique states, leaving another 25 states without representation. Which means roughly half of US Senators represent constituents who are left out. That's a lot of folks, including:

• New York (largest state not represented)
• Arizona
• North Carolina
• Colorado
• Virginia (which has many ties to DC)
• Massachusetts

That is not how it works. Even the states covered by SEC and Big 10 schools will have a major hit if the P2 officially splits. How many D1 programs does Ohio have? All those impacted schools have a lot of students and alumni, and most elections are decided by a few percentage points.

 

[baggerbob]

That is not how it works. Even the states covered by SEC and Big 10 schools will have a major hit if the P2 officially splits. How many D1 programs does Ohio have? All those impacted schools have a lot of students and alumni, and most elections are decided by a few percentage points.

And if you Don't realize that the TV executives and College President's would be sitting before a Senate hearing trying to answer questions about the breakaway.
It would be must see TV.
And when they have to turn over all their contracts, emails and other documents, there might be jail time for a number of people.
There are a lot of laws out there, and congress has the ability to draft new ones.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Big East was on track to get 7 bids last year at this time. Unless the SEC figures out a way for one of its teams to not lose a conference games, the SEC is not getting 14 bids.

 

[upstater]

If you don't think UConn and its supporters have been trying to get into a power conference over the past decade, then I don't know what to say. UConn has auditioned for both of those conferences multiple times and has been rejected every time. I don't think there is anything more that can be done. I even think if UConn offered to join the Big 12 for free like SMU with the ACC, it would still be rejected, just for spite.

You have to sue them at this point, these are antitrust violations.

 

[upstater]

The seminal paragraph:

View attachment 106117

This would be the best chance UConn has.

If they withdraw from the NCAA they have to take UConn with them.

UConn's biggest worry is being slowly killed in the bowels of the NCAA structure.

 

[upstater]

This feels like a huge antitrust issue. It's one thing for power conferences to have huge bowl tie-ins and make all of the conference television money and want special access to the CFB.

But to literally control the NCAA tournament and allow zero influence from other conferences? Feels like monopolistic behavior that could be challenged in court

I do think smaller conferences have some power here. There is no NCAA tournament magic without Cinderellas. Without the Valparaisos and Farleigh Dickinsons of the world. The "A4" need smaller conferences here. And the smaller conferences should push back on this.

More on point though, is there an NCAA tournament champion if you ice out the 6 time NCAA Champion in the last 25 years?

 

[upstater]

One more thing I'd add.

I'm surprised they are doing this so soon with the smaller schools in the small conferences, including the BE, paying the P4 football players of the past salaries for the next 10 yrs.

If you kick me out of the club, I'm not buying any more drinks.

 

[Patman]

More on point though, is there an NCAA tournament champion if you ice out the 6 time NCAA Champion in the last 25 years?

Yes. How stupid of a question is that. You aren't owed anything.

 

[upstater]

Yes. How stupid of a question is that. You aren't owed anything.

Owed? Who said anything about owed?

I never said anyone owed UConn anything.

It's not a stupid question at all when you've delegitimized what you're doing. And UConn is the test school for all of this because they can't say UConn is one of the schools that doesn't compete at the highest levels.

This has antitrust ramifications. UConn's status would be brought up in any court hearing the case

 

[CL82]

More on point though, is there an NCAA tournament champion if you ice out the 6 time NCAA Champion in the last 25 years?

Yes.

The Ivy League were the football powers until they decided to opt out of scholarships, and then they became a national after thought

 

[upstater]

Yes.

The Ivy League were the football powers until they decided to opt out of scholarships, and then they became a national after thought

That was their decision, though, right?

This would be a matter of icing out schools and sticking them outside of D1.

 

[CL82]

That was their decision, though, right?

This would be a matter of icing out schools and sticking them outside of D1.

Sure, but the end result was the same, right? The best players went to where they were most compensated and fans watched the best games and disregarded the former powers of the sport. I strongly doubt the results would be any different.

No one is going to be pushed out of DI. Instead, a group of schools will choose to compensate players more. Some schools will choose not to follow that path and will be marginalized because of it. In the meantime, the conference structure of P* schools will mean that they play each other more and play nonconference teams less which will impact the visibility of what we currently call G5 teams.

None of that is telling anyone they are kicked out of Division I sports even if it will have the same practical effect. I don't love it, obviously, but I don't see a path to successfully stopping it.

 

[upstater]

Sure, but the end result was the same, right? The best players went to where they were most compensated and fans watched the best games and disregarded the former powers of the sport. I strongly doubt the results would be any different.

No one is going to be pushed out of DI. Instead, a group of schools will choose to compensate players more. Some schools will choose not to follow that path and will be marginalized because of it. In the meantime, the conference structure of P* schools will mean that they play each other more and play nonconference teams less which will impact the visibility of what we currently call G5 teams.

None of that is telling anyone they are kicked out of Division I sports even if it will have the same practical effect. I don't love it, obviously, but I don't see a path to successfully stopping it.

It literally says they are going to close ranks in the article we're discussing.

The P4 are taking over the championships. If it looks like football they will curtail bids to teams outside the P4. After they do that, they'll create the divisions.

This is what I mean by freezing out.

There are a million ways they'll ice you. I mean, even the reffing is going to go against you. If there's such a thing as conference refs (and we all know that's true, they get paid by the conference, some of these guys walk around with duffel bags representing the schools and the conferences), get ready for P4 refs.

 

[CL82]

It literally says they are going to close ranks in the article we're discussing.

The P4 are taking over the championships. If it looks like football they will curtail bids to teams outside the P4. After they do that, they'll create the divisions.

This is what I mean by freezing out.

There are a million ways they'll ice you. I mean, even the reffing is going to go against you. If there's such a thing as conference refs (and we all know that's true, they get paid by the conference, some of these guys walk around with duffel bags representing the schools and the conferences), get ready for P4 refs.

Now all of those things I agree will undoubtedly happen, but that's different than saying that the non-P* schools will be "outside of D1."

You and I can agree that the endgame is to marginalize the non- P* schools. Once that's done, then they'll likely start weeding out the non-performing P* schools.

 

[uconnbill]

Not going to happen, yet. The courts will get involved as well as the politicians as we see already. This is going to be a crap show

 

[CL82]

Oh, I don't know how likely it is. Which do you follow again?