Presidential committees draft ‘ideas’ including new governing entity, cap on coach salaries, more

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Presidential committees on college sports have distributed a draft of “ideas” to reform the landscape, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The committees include conference commissioners, athletics directors and White House representatives.

According to the draft, which is “for discussion purposes only,” recommends the creation of a task force overseen by Congress to address issues facing college athletics. The goal would be to create more financial stability while enhancing revenue and controlling cost.

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Those efforts include a crackdown on salary cap circumvention through collectives and a ban on “re-direction” of athletics department dollars through multi-media rights (MMR) and apparel contracts. The committees also recommended a Group of 6 playoff while also putting a salary cap on both coaches and administrators.

As part of the draft, the committees stressed the need for some type of antitrust exemption. That has come up in the NCAA’s quest for federal legislation to help settle the college athletics space, specifically with regard to the SCORE Act. Yahoo! Sports reported Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are aiming to bring it to the floor for a vote the week of May 18.

In Phase 2 of the task force’s list of objectives, according to the draft, the committees recommended pooling of media rights while noting current deals are in place through the next five to seven years. The task force would also consider how conferences are currently built while also looking at “better monetization of key assets in the ecosystem.”

What a ‘permanent governing body’ would look like

Additionally, the task force would work to establish a new “permanent governing body,” including its role and structure. Per the draft, the task force itself could also become the permanent entity.

“This process shall include an assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of the NCAA, the CFP and the CSC, as well as review of alternative governance structures (e.g., modeled after professional sports leagues) and the possible need for additional legislation to vest additional powers and authorities with the Permanent Governing Body,” the draft reads.

When it comes to permanent governance, the draft recommends a 15-member board make up the permanent entity. It would include representation for student-athletes, power conference commissioners and Notre Dame, two representatives from other conferences, a representative from both Division II and Division III, and independent representation.

There would also be the potential for subcommittees focusing on issues such as revenue and expense management. The entity would also help put into place reforms for both governance and structure, including long-term media strategy.

More on the presidential committees

The presidential committees on college sports came about after a roundtable at the White House in February, hosted by President Donald Trump. Leaders in the space were in attendance, including every power conference commissioner and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua, along with notable names such as Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and NCAA president Charlie Baker.

Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, New York Yankees president Cody Campbell and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have taken on leading roles in the committees. Each group was assigned a key issue facing college athletics.

One of the presidential committees, along with the White House, have also spoken in support of a 24-team College Football Playoff. Earlier this week, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) voted to support an expanded CFP with the “maximum number of participants.”