LINCOLN, Neb. — New Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen expects revenue distribution in college sports to become more performance-based over time, resulting in an “eat what you kill” model.
Dannen, hired at Nebraska last month after less than six months with Washington, told ESPN that the future model for the College Football Playoff reflects what will happen in the broader college athletics landscape. Last month, the CFP and ESPN agreed to a six-year, $7.8 billion deal with a revenue-sharing plan that will give Big Ten and SEC schools more than $21 million a year, significantly more than schools in other leagues.
“There will be some meritocracy rather than a more social approach to income distribution,” Dannen said. “Eventually you'll see that within the leagues. You'll eventually see that in all sports, maybe outside of football. And eat what you kill, in some respects, that mentality. It's going to be much more performance-based and results-based, when It's about generating the income necessary to compete.
“The CFP decisions taken so far demonstrate this.”
The Big Ten Conference has operated under an equitable revenue sharing model, as high-profile sports programs like Ohio State and Michigan share with smaller, less decorated schools. Dannen noted that other leagues have also prided themselves on equitable revenue sharing, but that the CFP model is “a turning point, perhaps, in where the future is.”
“Many things that we have historically been proud of are no longer relevant in modern times,” he added. “For those who refuse to abandon the embrace of the past, the future runs for us.”
Nebraska has never made the CFP and last qualified for a bowl game in 2016, a far cry from the team's three national championships in the 1990s and 22 league titles from 1963 to 1999. But Dannen believes that The program has no limitations to recover its championship tradition. , especially if you make the necessary investments in name, image and likeness, and other key resource areas.
He highlighted coach Matt Rhule's previous successes at Baylor and Temple, his strong facilities and a large, passionate fan base that has sold out 396 consecutive games at Memorial Stadium.
“You can't get lost in history,” Dannen said. “History shows you what you are capable of doing, but it doesn't show you how to do it tomorrow. So I think we need to balance our history with the new era, and not just the era of today, but the era that lies ahead.” and how we are going to support student-athletes and make sure that we are leaders and as progressive as we can in the way we move forward.”
