If I were commissioner …

by TexCane

Just about every college sports fan in America agrees that college athletics is broken.

Recently, President Trump even convened a “round table’ at the White House with the leaders of college athletics to discuss the situation. Out of that meeting came his announcement that he would deliver a white paper outlining solutions to this mess.

That got me thinking. Yea, that could be scary but perhaps intriguing.

What if Trump recommends a new leadership structure with a strong single leader to pave the way for reform that builds public’s trust and support?

What if Trump announced ME as the new CEO of college sports?

OK, you can stop laughing and get up off the floor. As doubtful as that seems, it could be interesting. So, I set out to cobble together a high level strategic plan.

STEP ONE: Goals

Let's keep it simple. OK, that leaves out congress. Our strategic goals will be simple. That doesn't mean it will be easy. Our strategic plan will...

1. Be about our fans (customers).

2. Improve our Products

3. Reward Excellence.

4. Provide Stability

5. Provide Consistency

6. Make Common Sense.

STEP TWO: FIRE current commissioners

I would FIRE all incumbent Division I conference commissioners. We need a fresh start. I would establish a leadership council of twelve proven leaders to centrally manage the high level business of college athletics. These leaders would be men and women with bold vision, management skills and guts.

STEP THREE: A new foundation

The new association would have a foundation built around ten geographical divisions. This is where it gets tough. I would throw out the traditional mindset of conferences running the insane asylum. These leaders would work for the good of all, not a particular set of schools.

STEP FOUR: Centralize management

All operations would be managed centrally. Rules, enforcement, sales and marketing, scheduling, officiating, legal, finance and division operations all in one building. In other words, consistency.

Fans want consistency! They want a level playing field.

STEP FIVE: Centralize media rights

All media rights will be managed centrally. I will rid college sports of vendors controlling our business. Vendors will compete for the rights to distribute our products. All revenue will come directly to the new association. That revenue will be broken down into base revenue and performance revenue. We want all member schools to operate from the starting line. And we want a financial model that rewards excellence on the playing field AND in the classroom.

STEP SIX: Reduce membership

We will limit membership to 80 schools. The current membership ranks (133) is way too large and cumbersome. The other fifty-three schools would become members of a new Division II with their own centralized operations. The eighty member schools would be organized into eight divisions. No more cupcakes on the schedule.

BOTTOM LINE:

Change occurs only when the pain to stay the same exceeds the pain to change.

In part two of this series, we will begin to breakdown the new divisions, starting with the PACIFIC DIVISION.

GO CANES!