In another step towards the inevitable, the NCAA Board of Directors declared on Thursday that the Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) be granted autonomy, allowing them to craft rules and regulations that will apply only to their member universities.
The move is unprecedented, and the culmination of a decade of conference realignment that has seen the richest conferences expand their economic footprints as college football reels in extraordinary amounts of money. The Power 5 are expected to capitalize on their monetary advantage by pushing for rules that will increase athlete compensation in the form of scholarship stipends and insurance coverage, and potentially expand upon staff sizes and lessen recruiting restrictions.
While autonomy is not quite a done deal, Thursday’s ruling will begin to test the internal dynamics of the smaller conferences — including the AAC. Non-Power 5 Division I conferences will be given the option to employ the same rules set by the Power 5. AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco has supported scholarship stipends in the past, and was very clear at the AAC’s recent Media Day that he views his conference in the same tier as the Power 5. The problems Aresco may face, however, will depend on how much money AAC schools will have to spend to keep pace, lacking the resources of massive television contracts and big revenue football programs.
The top class of the AAC — UConn in particular — may be willing to expand their budgets to match the athletic benefits of the Power 5. UConn’s President Susan Herbst reiterated her support for Power 5-like benefits to SNY on Thursday, saying “the NCAA vote allows institutions to provide their student-athletes with more support, and we too strive for this, of course.” But that sentiment may not extend to the rest of the members who have never lived on the highest level of college sports, some of whom may lack the football revenue to provide such rich benefits.
What is assured is that smaller conferences who fail to keep pace will be at a significant disadvantage. Schools will have a difficult time recruiting top-tier athletes away from Power 5 programs that can offer them more benefits — a problem that would be exacerbated should the Power 5 agree not to play against outside competition.
Should UConn (or the other successful AAC programs) find themselves in this situation, it would be incredibly difficult to rectify, barring the wheels of realignment spinning once again.
Update: Here’s the statement from AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco on the autonomy vote.
Tyler,
I’m a life long UCONN Huskies fan that has migrated to Southern California. I read A DIME BACK on a regular basis and I enjoyed your article – Power 5 Autonomy and What it Means for UCONN. I tend to worry when I think about UCONN in the AAC for reasons you have mentioned, but I just can’t see a situation where a program and university that has had as much success as UCONN, will allow the AAC to stand in their way of continuing to recruit at a high level and contend for National Championships. I can’t stand the conference they are in and I think the ACC will come calling. So, I don’t think UCONN fans should be worried.