Power-5 autonomy has now moved from a plan to an actual reality after meetings in Washington, D.C. at the 2015 NCAA Convention.
You may have heard the phrase “Power-5 autonomy” being tossed around since the middle of 2014, but up until today you probably haven’t seen things functioning any differently in college athletics.
The NCAA is still overstepping their bounds, schools are still trying to skirt the rules, and Mark Emmert is still the biggest punchline in all of college sports.
For all the fanfare and public relations work that the Power-5 conferences made when it was first announced they would be granted autonomy, it’s odd that the recent meetings and votes that were held at the 2015 NCAA Convention were given much less grandstanding.
But meetings were held, and the impact they will have on college athletics can’t be understated.
A group of 80 voting members representing 65 different Power-5 schools held meetings at the convention on Jan. 17, and began voting on resolutions and changes they wanted to make in college sports.
If this sounds like a big deal, it’s because it is. This is going to begin a new era in college athletics all over the nation, and the ripple effects have just started to radiate outward.
The commissioners of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC (and let’s not forget Notre Dame) did comment on the significance of the sessions:
"“This week represents a new chapter in our focus to help student-athletes learn, grow, and succeed. College sports are an American tradition, and we intend to provide these student-athletes with an enhanced level of support.”"
In addition to the representatives from the 65 universities (chaired by Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch), 15 student-athletes from a varied group of schools and sports were also given a voice in the meetings. Included in these student representatives were:
Patrick Andrews – Clemson, Baseball
Kaila Barber – Notre Dame, Track and Field
Ty Darlington – Oklahoma, Football
Diamond DeShields – Tennessee, Women’s Basketball
Ben-Marvin Egel – Purdue, Men’s Golf
McKenzie Fechter – Washington, Women’s Gymnastics
Chris Hawthorne – Minnesota, Football
Jay Hughes – Mississippi State, Football
Taylor James – California, Women’s Rowing
Anthony Lyons, Jr. – Texas Tech, Baseball
Nandi Mehta – Northwestern, Women’s Soccer
Kene Orjioke – UCLA, Football
Artie Rowell – Pittsburgh, Football
Maddie Stein – Kansas, Softball
Josh Tobias – Florida, Baseball
Wait…actual students being included and having a voice in their future? With non-revenue sports included?
We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.
The group adopted a set of rules during the first-ever autonomy business session under the new Division I governance structure. The Power-5 schools now have the flexibility to propose and adopt rules within a set of specific categories as part of that new structure.
Any proposals and/or resolutions brought before the group were discussed and then could be passed in the following manner:
- 60 percent of all votes (48 votes) and a simple majority support from schools in three of the five conferences, or;
- A majority of all votes (at least 41) and simple majority support from the schools in four of the five conference
So what was discussed during the two days of meetings with these powerful conference representatives? The bulk of the agenda focused on cost of attendance, loss-of-value insurance, scholarship renewal, and concussion safety.
One of the biggest votes that was held was on cost of attendance and scholarships. A resolution was passed allowing Power-5 schools to give their athletes full cost of attendance as part of a full athletics scholarship beginning Aug. 1 of this year.
This means that stipends will be created to cover any cost of living expenses for scholarship recipients outside of their tuition and university created bills.
Per the terms of this resolution, these scholarships cannot be revoked for athletics reasons.
“It’s one afternoon, but it’s really been the last two years that a lot of this has been vetted and discussed,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said, via ESPN. “Full cost of attendance was critical. It had to pass. It was a part of modernizing the collegiate model.”
This measure was passed with a 64-1 vote, with Boston College being the lone dissenting member.
There was also a vote to adhere to more stringent concussion management requirements, with a new set of concussion protocols to be submitted to a newly formed Concussion Safety Protocol Committee for their approval.
Other approved measures include a discretionary student-athlete assistance fund, and to allow for student-athletes to borrow against potential future earnings to purchase loss-of-value insurance.
You can rest assured that this is just the first step in what will probably be many in these five conferences pulling further and further away from NCAA oversight, and taking a more personal interest in their players and their needs as both students and athletes.
What votes they have and which resolutions they pass are nothing more than window dressing to the bigger picture, which is finally breaking the fingers of the NCAA’s grasp on student-athletes. The days of witch hunts, archaic rules, and completely inadequate investigations will be coming to a much-needed close.
This is college athletics version of the Berlin Wall finally falling. All it needs now is Roger Waters and a cast of thousands putting on a benefit concert to ease the pain and suffering of all the past coaches and players who have been dealt DDTs by the NCAA’s brute squad.
With every rule change, every subtle change in tactics, and every thumbnose to Emmert and friends, the autonomy schools will chip away at the power of the biggest rogue organization since Buffy and her Scoobies.
And the next big question will undoubtedly be, “What about everyone else? You know, all those schools not lucky enough to be in a Power-5 conference.”
Never fear.
The door has been left open for schools from other conferences and independent schools to adopt these measures and resolutions if they so choose, they just aren’t able to vote on them.
Keep your eyes on this, and watch these meetings and votes carefully, because for those of you who have longed to see the NCAA become a powerless, puppet organization, that day is on its way.