VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Kent Syverud calls current college football model an “illusion of stability”
Kent Syverud; The league makes a lot of sense because it would coordinate with a National College Student Football Players Association which would be subject to agreements that would ensure competitive equity and take care of fair compensation across the board and that would ensure fan interest in scheduling. I think the third desirable feature of it would be governance. It would be governed by schools and colleges and it would therefore preserve an ability to use expanded revenue from football to preserve olympic sports and womens-sports which currently are highly dependent and highly at risk.
Keith Kobland; I think to a large degree the mood of Central New York is always better when the basketball or football team is doing well. There’s a strong sense of community pride when it comes to Syracuse University sports. I think Central New York and Syracuse University are forever intertwined.
Kent Syverud; The final thing I think is that this is really the only model that has a realistic chance of navigating the litigation and legislation problems which otherwise are likely to continue for decades so there’s a lot at stake here.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – “Highly dependent and highly at risk,” Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud said about the current model for college athletics.
Last week, College Sports Tomorrow, a group of key executives including Syverud, shared its proposal for the “College Student Football League.”
The proposed super league would group 136 college football teams into two sectors. A team could either be in the Power 12 Conference or one of eight smaller leagues based on the school’s location.
During a press conference held by Syverud, he specified the reasons that pushed him to become a proponent of the proposed league.
“The league makes a lot of sense because it would coordinate with the Nation College Student Football Players Association,” Syverud said.
That relationship would mean agreements to assure competitive equity and fair compensation, which in the eyes of College Sports Tomorrow leaders, would assure fan engagement and smarter scheduling.
Another feature that would set the league apart, according to Syverud, is that it would be governed by the institutions. They would create the ability to use expanded revenue from football to invest in other sports at these colleges and schools.
According to Syverud, this model would revive the most at risk sports; women’s sports and olympic sports.
Since name, image and likeness, known as NIL, in college athletics got the go-ahead from the Supreme Court, there has been a slew of litigation and legislation battles for the NCAA.
According to Syverud, the “College Student Football League” would significantly decrease the amount of cases with its new infrastructure, as NIL deals keep perpetuating an unpredictability from athletes.
In addition to student-athletes getting paid, there must also be a profitable margin for the schools involved.
During the press conference, Syverud stated that the eight smaller divisions, excluded from the Power 12 Conference, would only be receiving 6% of the revenue. Although seemingly slim, Syverud assured that with competitive success playing up those involved will end up getting more than in their current structure.
“I think it’s the one that’s probably in the best interest of fans in this country and certainly of Syracuse University,” Syverud said of the league.
The Syverud-backed league also aims to benefit the surrounding areas and the fans who live in the tri-state area.
Keith Kobland, a Broadcast and Digital Journalism instructor at SU, said as a resident of Central New York and having worked in local news, he has seen how SU sports directly affect the surrounding areas.
“People who aren’t necessarily even close sports fans, when the teams here at the university are doing well, they perk up and pay attention,” Kobland said. “I think to a large degree the mood of Central New York always is better when the basketball or football team is doing well.”
The success of the team directly affects the strength of the fandom. Proponents of the new league said that because teams will be able to play more competitive games through this league, fans will be one of the main beneficiaries.
However, the student-athletes may want a piece of the pie as well.
With a rise in NIL deals, there is a fine line to walk when it comes to governing the finances and opportunities of student athletes.
Maria Wainscott, a Sports Media graduate student at SU and alumni of Notre Dame, has seen firsthand the complications of NIL at a school that has no conference affiliation and one that identifies strongly with the ACC.
“People are not picking colleges for the right reasons anymore or they’re not going to the right universities that can offer them things beyond the game of football and those opportunities,” Wainscott said. “So NIL has sort of muddied the waters of what it means to be a college athlete.”