THINKtank: Consolidation

February 18, 2026

College athletics, specifically football, is spiraling out of control. The NCAA is no longer the governing body of college sports. Conference realignment, NIL, Transfer Portal and the courts have neutered that organization.

Can the universities take back control of the athletic programs? Is it time to close down the NCAA? Start over with fresh blood leadership with bold, innovative ideas?

All good questions.

In this edition, we will begin to look at the critical steps needed to save college athletics.

STEP ONE: Consolidation

This step can be accomplished under the NCAA banner or can be the foundation of a new governing body.

Currently, the NCAA’s Division I consists of 133 colleges and universities. This number has skyrocketed over the last two decades. Unfortunately, it has led to the chaos called conference realignment.

The NCAA or a NEW Entity must replace the current independent conferences. This has led to unhealthy competition among the ten conferences that make up the current Division I, a group of “haves” and “have nots.” The SEC and Big Ten now dominate college athletics at the detriment of the other eight conferences.

In this NEW ENTITY, all the old conferences will report to a single commissioner. All sports operations (scheduling and post-season) will be managed and controlled by the NEW ENTITY. The entity will be managed by executive vice presidents reporting to the SINGLE commissioner.

In addition, Finance, Legal, Marketing, Media Rights and Enforcement will be managed by Executive Vice Presidents reporting to the Commissioner.

BOTTOM LINE:

The loosely-knit body of warring tribes will now have a new single boss, the COMMISSIONER. The commissioner will report to a Board of Directors made up of the member university presidents.

In the next edition, we will examine a new organization structure that will replace the current conferences.

GO CANES!