[Goose]

There are so many ways for the "Fall of the NCAA" to unfold, it's like trying to build sand castles with totally dry sand. There is nothing to bind anything together right now, so it's impossible for anything to hold form, let alone have a solid foundation to build anything on.

Very true, IMHO. One should also keep in mind that conferences are also "at risk" as to how they do business. The conferences currently rely on NCAA regulation and enforcement to control the effects of inherent differences in the strength (financial and otherwise) of their members. WSU for example is not nearly as "strong" as e.g. U$C in many ways, but NCAA regulations limit the effects of those disparities. Those limits are now probably gone.

The conferences may currently be fixated on rearranging their membership, but if they (and their members) were smart, they would be trying to design a legal framework where college athletics could exist with an adequate enforcement mechanisms, preserve at least a somewhat level playing field, preserve amateurism and the student-athlete, and effectively respect the fact that athletics is not and should not be the primary focus of the conference members. This agenda will require Congressional legislation. It will also be contentious among different views of what is appropriate to college athletics.

I do believe it can be done, because the ad-hoc system that has evolved over the years has basically done this. The current system has recently (last 15 years or so) devolved under financial incentives from sports marketing, media marketing, and (to a degree) large donor influence. There is lots of financial pressure to maximize revenue from the appropriately named "revenue sports". The legislation for the design of the new framework needs to allow the regulatory body(s) to cap the destabilizing effects of this rush for profit. Without that, the professionalization of college sports (and all the abuses that accompany that) is inevitable. If the PAC-12 simply attempts to position itself in the unpredictable wake of the current legal mess confronting the NCAA, it too will fail to address the real structural issues and will not help shape the future. The conference will be one of the anvils, not the hammer.

[Goose]

There are so many ways for the "Fall of the NCAA" to unfold, it's like trying to build sand castles with totally dry sand. There is nothing to bind anything together right now, so it's impossible for anything to hold form, let alone have a solid foundation to build anything on.

Very true, IMHO. One should also keep in mind that conferences are also "at risk" as to how they do business. The conferences currently rely on NCAA regulation and enforcement to control the effects of inherent differences in the strength (financial and otherwise) of their members. WSU for example is not nearly as "strong" as e.g. U$C in many ways, but NCAA regulations limit the effects of those disparities. Those limits are now probably gone.

The conferences may currently be fixated on rearranging their membership, but if they (and their members) were smart, they would be trying to design a legal framework where college athletics could exist with an adequate enforcement mechanisms, preserve at least a somewhat level playing field, preserve amateurism and the student-athlete, and effectively respect the fact that athletics is not and should not be the primary focus of the conference members. This agenda will require Congressional legislation. It will also be contentious among different views of what is appropriate to college athletics.

I do believe it can be done, because the ad-hoc system that has evolved over the years has basically done this. The current system has recently (last 15 years or so) devolved under financial incentives from sports marketing, media marketing, and (to a degree) large donor influence. There is lots of financial pressure to maximize revenue from the appropriately named "revenue sports". The legislation for the design of the new framework needs to allow the regulatory body(s) to cap the destabilizing effects of this rush for profit. Without that, the professionalization of college sports (and all the abuses that accompany that) is inevitable. If the PAC-12 simply attempts to position itself in the unpredictable wake of the current legal mess confronting the NCAA, it too will fail to address the real structural issues and will not help shape the future. The conference will be one of the anvils, not the hammer.