Is NCAA Division I Athletics

a

Higher Education Function?

This article IS about traditional higher education and the student learning experience.  However, to continue traditional higher education with skilled academic faculty required to continue to teach and impart knowledge to students requires an in-depth and critical evaluation and assessment of the role that NCAA Division I athletics plays in the administrative and academic structure of higher education.

We have to take a long and serious look at a higher education institutional component which has the impact of destroying or severally impacting the primary mission of higher education. What’s that?  It is the public’s fully accepted and mostly distorted impact of expenses and monetary protocols associated with NCAA Division I athletics.  Let’s look further and see if we can, truly, find a solution that is fair and equitable.

The following text was from Mr. Joe Pompliano in  the June 17, 2025 edition of “Huddle Up”

“The recently approved House v. NCAA settlement represents one of the most significant changes in the history of Division I athletics for college sports. Nearly everyone reading this email will be impacted, from the athletic director at a Division I school to fans frustrated by the transfer portal to parents just trying to help their kid earn a scholarship. It doesn’t matter who you are; if you have any interest in college sports at all, this is important.

In fact, this settlement is so important that today’s newsletter is going to break down everything you need to know about it. This took me a long time to put together, but it’s likely the most comprehensive breakdown you’ll find anywhere on the internet.

The $2.8 billion in backpay and future revenue-sharing agreements have garnered all the headlines, but the devil is in the details. This settlement will impact everything from how NIL deals get approved to roster limits and the future of Olympic sports.”.

Mr. Pompliano’s statement is correct.  However, his vision of higher education is far too limited.  We’ll get to a proposed solution a little further in this paper.

The “farm system” for the NBA and the NFL and Massive Expenses for Higher Education

The Buss family is going to sell the Los Angeles Lakers for 10 BILLION dollars and they don’t even have a “farm system” of lower division teams to train and move skilled players to the home team (the LA Lakes).  They, like all of the  teams in the National Basketball Association and all of the teams in the National Football League use colleges and universities as their “farm system” for training and development of future NBA and NFL players.  My goodness, these pro teams don’t even have to take ownership or bare the expenses of owning lower division teams in a “farm system”.  Higher education institutions will do it for them for FREE!!   Yup, with a 98% factor, they upgrade their professional team rosters with college players who “move onto the pros after spending time in college”.  Take a step back and seriously ask yourself the question of fairness and equity.

Division I college athletes are primarily compensated through scholarships and, more recently, through Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. A recent settlement allows schools to directly pay athletes, with a cap of roughly $20 million annually per school. The total compensation, including scholarships, NIL deals, and direct payments, is in the billions.  Division I and II athletes receive a total of $2.9 billion in athletic scholarships annually.  While it’s difficult to calculate a precise total, the combined value of scholarships, NIL deals, and direct payments is likely in the billions. 

Faced with overwhelming and increasing expenses to fund NCAA Division I athletics, college and universities are sharpening their pencils and conducting their due diligence.  Realizing that their Division I overall expenses are costing (on average)  institutional annual revenue shortfalls estimated to be as high as $30 million (or more) per year, the higher education community still accepts the fact that NCAA Division I sports programs need to be an overall part of their higher education programs and mission.  They have already started increasing annual “student affairs fees” from a modest $50/semester to over $600/semester in an attempt to attempt to make up for what is KNOWN to be a shortfall in their NCAA Division I athletic programs.  Net result for parents and students — tuition and fees keep on increasing.  The overall tuition and fees for an academic year are increasing beyond anything reasonable because one of the expenses that has to be covered is the continued support  of NCAA Division I athletics (scholarships, locally paid “honorariums” for top players, NIL deals, transfer portals, etc.).

Did You Know?

In 49 of the 50 states in the US, the head football coach at a Division I institution is the highest paid employee of the state.  Yes, more than the college president (sometimes 500% more) and more than the governor of the state.  Remember the words at the start of this article?  “Fair and equitable”.

What is the Resolution?

The priority for the higher education community is to ensure academic opportunities and education for their students.  There is not ONE college “Mission Statement” of any of the NCAA Division I institutions that includes a statement such as, “Win the football conference championship”.  Not one!  Higher education mission statements are about learning.

None of these points are easy to implement.  They are complex and require major rethinking and decision-making at the highest levels:

• Have the National Basketball Association and the National Football League form, own and manage a “farm system” that would become their feeder route for the players to make the “parent” team.  Do not use higher education institutions for this purpose.  This should become a normal cost-of-business for both of these leagues.  Both can start out by having one “Class A” team.  Over time, expand the minor leagues of the NBA and the NFL.  Do you like the name Ann Arbor Ants for the Detroit Pistons minor league Class A basketball “feeder” team?  How about Ft. Lauderdale Laughable for the Miami Dolphins minor league Class A football “feeder” team?  Knoxville Knockers for the Tennessee Titans minor league Class A football “feeder” team?  And, not to be left out (since there is BIG money) the Santa Monica Maniacs for the Los Angeles  Lakers minor league Class A basketball “feeder team?  NONE of them are associated with higher education institutions!
• Keep all of the existing NCAA Division I leagues as they are currently structured by the participating institutions.  Institutions in the Big 10 remain in the Big 10; institutions in the SEC remain in the SEC; institutions in the ACC remain in the ACC, etc.
• Have each Division I conference request the NCAA to move all of the teams in their Division I conference to Division III status (non-scholarship).
• Offer continued employment to all the institutional staff associated with former Division I programs with associated salaries being reduced to salary levels comparable to administrative appointments at the college, i.e., head football coach = $140,000 – $200,000 depending on institution; head basketball coach = $140,000 – $200,000 depending on institution.
• Conference traditional “rivalries” will remain the same.  Florida wants to beat Georgia in football.  North Carolina wants to beat Duke in basketball.  Michigan wants to beat Ohio State in football, Ohio University wants to beat Northern Illinois in women’s volleyball, etc.  Tradition remains tradition.
• Have the same playoff structures to determine a national champion in each sport at the Division III level.
• Save each institution many millions of dollars annually and properly place the correct emphasis on the institution’s Mission Statement and academic learning for the students.  The intrinsic reward for the student is a college education.  The reward for the young athlete is the opportunity to grow within the structure of their sport.