KC Smurthwaite is a consultant for Athletics Admin, specializing in revenue generation, licensing, marketing, and higher education. He has almost two decades of experience in collegiate athletics and the sports and entertainment industry. Smurthwaite is a fractional employee of several athletic departments across the country. He also teaches sports management and journalism as an adjunct professor. Follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn. Smurthwaite can also be reached at [email protected].
Ah, yes, the simpler days.
Enter the 2010–2011 NCAA rulebook:
“[A]n institution may provide fruit, nuts, and bagels to a student-athlete at any time.”
Yes, that was a rule that doesn’t feel real right now. And yes, people actually debated whether cream cheese counted as a violation.
Spoiler: eventually, the dairy gods were appeased. Cream cheese made the cut.
But if you thought that was contentious, welcome to 2025, where the NCAA has gone from monitoring spreadable condiments to trying to spread itself thin enough to stay relevant in the face of existential threats.
Because now we’re not arguing over breakfast policies — we’re arguing over survival.
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The cracks have been forming long before NIL, court challenges, and media contracts widened the gap between the haves and have-nots. But the latest comments from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey poured gas on the flames already licking at the NCAA’s heels:
“I don’t have the authority to just depart [the NCAA]… But I have people in my room asking, ‘Why are we still in the NCAA?'”
Cue the collective gasp. The SEC. Floating departure. From the NCAA.
He’s not wrong.
If you’ve been living under a rock (or just emotionally checked out after the last realignment wave), here’s a quick recap: the NCAA’s legal losing streak is long, its control over major sports is waning, and its future? Undefined.
We’re in uncharted territory — and sinking into it fast.
Kentucky has already created an LLC to house its athletic department. The Big 12 has openly courted private equity. Media companies are pitching super leagues with the enthusiasm of a Shark Tank finale. I’ve even heard of schools floating licensing agreements with themselves – the university name.
Meanwhile, the House v. NCAA case looms large. When settled, it could cost billions and rewire the entire business model of college sports. Direct revenue sharing with athletes is on the horizon — to the tune of $20 million per power-conference school, per year. And that’s just a starting figure.
What once made the model work — Auburn football subsidizing tennis, Title IX helping balance the scales — is evaporating. Fast.
It’s not just that the NCAA might lose control. It’s that it already has, and most schools just haven’t said the quiet part out loud yet.
We (they) Begged for Congress — But Got Congress
The NCAA and its top conferences have over half a decade pleading with Congress for antitrust protection, hoping to avoid athlete employee classification. So far? No dice.
Now, Congress is clapping back. And they’ve got schools — Notre Dame, ACC institutions, and Big 12 allies — in their Rolodex. If the Big Ten and SEC try to split, they might find themselves legislatively outflanked. Political protection? Maybe. Political agendas? Definitely.
Matt Brown of Extra Points pointed out perfectly that inviting Congress to the table opens the door for Congressional control. And politicians, if you haven’t noticed, like to keep the power they’re given. Oh, and ask questions…
This isn’t just a gridlock — it’s a full-on mix of conflicting interests: antitrust, NIL, employment law, Title IX, institutional branding, TV contracts, and conference egos.
It’s tempting to paint this as a clash between big schools and small schools. But that’s not quite it.
The real obstacle? Everybody is different and every university has its own priorities. Additionally, those schools still view each other as rivals, rather than potential assets to a bigger payday. No one’s ready to split the check, unless it’s with the right people.
And while they argue over the appetizers, the main course is burning in the kitchen. Or at least the clock is running out.
College sports is professionalizing — slowly, grudgingly, and chaotically. Football and men’s basketball have already crossed the Rubicon. The question isn’t whether they’ll become de facto professional leagues, it’s how the rest of the system survives once they do.
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And what of the NCAA?
Well, it needs to function — just not in its current function.
Championships, maybe. Olympic sports oversight, perhaps. But governance of an industry in financial flux and legal peril? That may be beyond its means. Or its relevance.
So do we just let it burn down?
As absurd as it all sounds — yes, even more than the cream cheese debates — maybe this is the path to progress. Maybe we don’t get to a better system without watching the current one hit rock bottom.
The NCAA is in its awkward teenage phase: not quite a governing body, not quite obsolete, still living at home and trying to figure out its place in the world. And everyone — media, fans, politicians, ADs, coaches — has an opinion on how it should grow up. But no one’s grounded (or given power) enough to enforce a curfew. (Side Note: Could you imagine if the Pony Express death penalty happened today?)
So yeah, maybe Sankey’s comments were a shot across the bow. But you don’t fire those unless you already have something ready in the shadows.
Whether that’s a super league, a hostile takeover, or something we haven’t even imagined yet — the next chapter of college sports is already being written.
And this time, it’s not about bagels.
