Is the NCAA unfixable? DI sports have never been more divided but can we turn back?

The NCAA has long been dominated by schools from the Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC).

Now that the Pac-12 has almost entirely dissolved, barring the stubbornness of Oregon State and Washington State, the country has focused on Power 4 schools.

The gap between these programs and those who have failed to earn their place in a ‘top-tier’ conference is larger than ever, especially with the emergence of NIL deals, the recent decision to allow schools to directly pay their athletes, and more.

Most recently, the leaders of college athletics met in Naples, Florida to discuss the future of collegiate sports.

By “the leaders” the NCAA meant five men – the NCAA president and the commissioners of the Power 4 conferences, not the 28 other conference commissioners from across the country.

The divide between Power-4 and non-Power-4 is even further cemented by the divide between FBS and FCS football programs.

Since football is the driving force behind schools’ annual revenues, failing to be a part of the FBS grouping is a death sentence to many athletic programs.

All of this being said, can the NCAA be fixed? Can the cracks between the conferences be smoothed over? 

Or, will the top dogs stay top dogs forever and the underdogs fade into oblivion?

Programs like the Texas Longhorns are just fine with the divide, despite the damage it may do to smaller programs.

The Horns have held their place as a perennial powerhouse (both in regards to athletics and profits) for decades, and that is only becoming more true as Texas leaves the Big 12 for the SEC.

In other words, Longhorns and Longhorn fans have nothing to worry about.

But, what about UTSA or UT-Arlington that are just a few hours away from the Longhorns’ home?

While the UT San Antonio Roadrunners have earned a spot as an FBS opponent, they are far from being included in a Power 4 conference. The UT-Arlington Mavericks don’t even have a football team to produce income for their other sports.

As more and more money flows toward schools like UT-Austin and focus is turned away from schools like UTSA or UT-Arlington, the gap only grows.

Change needs to start happening now in order to save smaller conferences and small athletic programs from turmoil.

This wasn’t supposed to be a doomsday post, but the more I write about it, the more it heads in that direction.

Charlie Baker, the NCAA president, and the commissioners of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC need to start letting the other players into the room with them.

Meetings between just those five men can no longer happen.

Schools in more minor conferences will fight and claw their way into bigger conferences but how big can the Power-4 conferences get? The Big Ten and the ACC already have 18 teams a piece, while the SEC and Big 12 have 16 teams each.

There is going to be a mad dash by the small programs to save themselves from an almost entirely sunken ship. The big dogs need to give them a hand aboard.

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