[Goose]

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 . . .

1.  I agree it will take congressional action to regulate this mess;

2.  I completely disagree that "it can be done" before the downfall of college sports as we know it is a fait accompli.  I mean, think about it.  The interests in favor of the upcoming new model - the SEC, primarily - will have their delegates opposed to regulation for obviou$ reasons.  Then add the larger group who believe the current system exploits the competitors - and in the major sports, a large % of those "exploited" are AAs - and there is no way the requisite legislation gets enacted.

Indeed, I think the only way congress is galvanized to act is because they will look at what's left of college scholarship athletics down the road and realize that there are fewer hundreds - if not thousands - of kids getting the opportunity to attend college (including a large % of AA kids).  But bu then, there will have been a lot of damage done.  A lot.

Hope I'm wrong.

Actually, I think we 100% agree. I think it can be done and that if the B1G, PAC-12, and ACC schools got together and designed something it is possible they could get Congress to do it. Even in the SEC, they at least pretend to support the amateur model. They could quibble about details, but publicly at least they would have to support it "in principle". However, I do agree with you that probably it won't be done both for the reasons you cite and additionally because there is no leadership in the conferences to do it. Everybody is just hoping it can be "managed" and that the effects won't be too bad. They won't even make a plan until they see actual serious damage. The problem with this approach is that by that point the public may be so turned off by college athletics that there is basically no road back.
It isn't a given force of nature that college sports exist and are popular. Once they are reduced to a shadow of themselves and nobody cares, rebuilding them may be neither possible or desired by the college administrators.

[Goose]

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 . . .

1.  I agree it will take congressional action to regulate this mess;

2.  I completely disagree that "it can be done" before the downfall of college sports as we know it is a fait accompli.  I mean, think about it.  The interests in favor of the upcoming new model - the SEC, primarily - will have their delegates opposed to regulation for obviou$ reasons.  Then add the larger group who believe the current system exploits the competitors - and in the major sports, a large % of those "exploited" are AAs - and there is no way the requisite legislation gets enacted.

Indeed, I think the only way congress is galvanized to act is because they will look at what's left of college scholarship athletics down the road and realize that there are fewer hundreds - if not thousands - of kids getting the opportunity to attend college (including a large % of AA kids).  But bu then, there will have been a lot of damage done.  A lot.

Hope I'm wrong.

Actually, I think we 100% agree. I think it can be done and that if the B1G, PAC-12, and ACC schools got together and designed something it is possible they could get Congress to do it. Even in the SEC, they at least pretend to support the amateur model. They could quibble about details, but publicly at least they would have to support it "in principle". However, I do agree with you that probably it won't be done both for the reasons you cite and additionally because there is no leadership in the conferences to do it. Everybody is just hoping it can be "managed" and that the effects won't be too bad. They won't even make a plan until they see actual serious damage. The problem with this approach is that by that point the public may be so turned off by college athletics that there is basically no road back.
It isn't a given force of nature that college sports exist and are popular. Once they are reduced to a shadow of themselves and nobody cares, rebuilding them may be neither possible or desired by the college administrators.