As the preferred structure of future NCAA governance remains debatable in college athletics, Washington State President Kirk Schulz on Thursday emphasized the need for the national organization and urged others to be patient as new leaders try guide its member schools through a critical and transformative time.
“It's easy to throw hand grenades at the NCAA,” Schulz said in a video conference with Pac-12 media. “Schools do it, presidents do it, a lot of people do it. But at the end of the day, we need an organization that puts on championships, that sets some rules and enforces them. If you get rid of the NCAA, whatever I mean, it looks like… guess what? You have to create a separate organization that will have the same functions and will have some of the same frustrations.
“As soon as someone has to enforce the law, believe me, the school that's being investigated is not going to feel good about it,” he said. “I think the idea that we're going to start seeing a lot of conferences or schools break away from the NCAA and start their own grouping, whatever it is, I think at some point they'll just recreate the NCAA. Why? No? reform what is there instead of recreating something?
Schulz's comments came a day after a high-ranking university official told ESPN that there are some SEC and Big Ten presidents and chancellors who are “very adamant” about withdrawing from the NCAA.
“That's an option that's on the table,” the source said. “…It would be irresponsible of us if we weren't considering a new governance process. There is so much uncertainty in the world of college athletics. Do we want to continue with this or is there a better way to do it?” things? Yes, those conversations are out there.”
Those conversations tie into ongoing discussions about the future of the College Football Playoff, as its leadership considers what the format should look like beginning in 2026. The CFP will have a 12-team playoff starting this season and next, but the future is a blank slate. The CFP management committee is currently focused on a 14-team format. Before presidents and chancellors can agree to a new television deal with ESPN for the next eight years, they must decide what the format will be, how teams will be ranked and whether everyone is working together under the NCAA umbrella.
Schulz, who represents the Pac-12 on the CFP board, said his conversations with other university presidents over the past few months have reflected a general appreciation for new NCAA president Charlie Baker.
“Whether or not people like all the proposals that come out, you have to applaud the leaders who say, 'Hey, we recognize that people want to see something different in the NCAA and we're going to respond to that.'” “Schulz said. “It is too early not to give Charlie the opportunity to continue to help lead and change what the NCAA does and how he works with schools.”
New Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould, who now represents the conference on the CFP management committee, said commissioners are “aligned” in their desire to develop a plan that has “adaptability.”
“I don't think any of us would have anticipated the amount of change that's happening right now,” he said in his introductory news conference. “Yesterday looked different than today. And who knows what the headline will be tomorrow. So our collective job as CFP leadership is to make sure that whatever the plan is, we have a plan that is adaptable and agile to the times. changing worlds we live in. And that's one of the conversations I want to make sure we continue to have in that room.”
