The Missing “Why” in College Football?
I have been comparing the structure of College Football to UK sports quite a bit in recent weeks. Whilst doing so, something had been bothering me about the comparisons. This week I finally figured out what it is. I was missing the “why” in College Football.
What do I mean by that?
The Governance of UK Sport
The governance structure in the main English professional sports (the FA in Football, the ECB in Cricket, the RFU in Rugby Union) all share a similar primary goal. They all aim to make their respective national teams as successful as possible. The organisations all want to find and develop the next stars for the England national team to have success at international level (with a little self-interest sprinkled in!). It is their “why”.
The systems and structures within these games are geared towards pulling grassroots players into the professional ranks and into the national teams. This is clear in the respective pyramid structures that exist through each sport.
Photo below: The national football pyramid designed to help this gentleman be successful…
Embed from Getty ImagesSuccess at a national level can be used to fuel grassroots development and the cycle continues. It doesn’t always work but it’s the general idea.
The US Sporting Context
Unlike the aforementioned UK sports, American football obviously has no national team. The incentive structure is different. There is a transfer of players through the tiers from high school recruiting to college to the eventual NFL draft. But it is not really the same as a grassroots pull-through and the NFL is not known for playing nicely within anyone, let along college football.
So, what is the “why” in College Football?
The NCAA has held firm for years on “Amateurism” and protecting the “student athlete”.
I have some sympathy with this in non-revenue sports. Sports should be safe and rewarding to a student’s college experience. But this mantra has not worked for some time in football and basketball given the money now generated in these sports.
When it comes to non-revenue/Olympic sports, Olympic success for the US national teams is a great goal although that seems more of a downstream result rather than a primarily goal.
The “Why” of College Football
Potential whys that I can see for College Football include:
All of the above may be valid and true at once (alongside other points I may have missed). But priorities must be clarified and focussed upon so that those governing the sport have a clear mission statement. Clarity on this is important as the future governance and structure of the sport will be different depending on which is prioritised.
Is the NCAA the right Organisation for the job?
Embed from Getty ImagesThe next question would be, is the NCAA the best organisation to manage the above as well as a slate of Olympic sports? For those sports, the “why” might be different given millions of dollars are not at stake.
Is it time to split off football from the rest? The new House Settlement (article coming soon) will set up a new body to govern the NIL transactions. It might be time for a fully focussed body to govern the sport of College Football in its entirety, allowing the NCAA to focus on the rest.
College Football is experiencing a period of transition as we move from the pure amateur era to that of professionalism. That is a huge shift and there are so many open points to solve. I see this as evolution rather than revolution and we are likely to see a granular shift over times.
As the conferences consider their futures and Congress becomes more involved, I do hope the above points are considered and addressed. If College Football can find its missing “why”, then it will be setup well for the future.
There is some way to go in this journey, and I will watch on with interest!
