“I think the whole narrative around the fact that the Big East has this massive advantage is comical, in a way,” Benedict said. “And maybe it will play out that way. At this point, I’m very skeptical of that narrative. I’m not so sure that’s not just a narrative that is helping support individuals who are actually spreading that narrative to try to make sure they don’t fall behind, versus what the realities are. Because the suggestion that a group of universities that are getting probably 10 percent of what those [power conference] institutions are getting in media value — and we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars difference — that the schools getting 10 percent of what they are, are at a financial advantage is somewhat comical to me. The realities are, you can spend more of the cap on a particular sport. Well, you’d have to have the money first to be able to spend it. So yes, there is potential based on the formula and how things work, that you would have an easier time spending direct revenue share because you don’t have the massive investment that football requires. But you still have to have the money.
“Name me one school right now outside the Power 4 that is going to max out the cap. I’m not aware of any. It’s not because they don’t want to support their student-athletes. They’re not generating the same kind of revenue. Conferences are distributing, on the low end of the Power 4 levels, somewhere in the 40-plus million area, all the way up to the 60, 70, 80 million dollars. We get five, maybe. So how are we advantaged in that scenario, financially?”
www.courant.com
www.hartfordbusiness.com
