Tuesday - The Future of College Sports

[Bobby Burton]

17 minutes ago, pinkman_90 said:

I didn’t know there were Tech apologists on this board.  That’s even more gross than the Cody Campbell propaganda posted. 

Hope you’re not calling me a Tech apologist or what I wrote propaganda.

I’m definitely not the former and as for the latter, I specifically mentioned I’m not pro-Campbell.

[MJW2327]

Some people just want to watch the world burn (Alfred Batman accent)… or just read these threads, always entertaining 

[pinkman_90]

2 minutes ago, Bobby Burton said:

Hope you’re not calling me a Tech apologist or what I wrote propaganda.

I’m definitely not the former and as for the latter, I specifically mentioned I’m not pro-Campbell.

No you’re not an apologist.  That was some others.  But the Campbell media blitz is definitely propaganda.  Can’t watch a single CFB game without his stupid commercials being shoved down my throat.  And now it’s here.  

[Hashtag]

2 minutes ago, pinkman_90 said:

No you’re not an apologist.  That was some others.  But the Campbell media blitz is definitely propaganda.  Can’t watch a single CFB game without his stupid commercials being shoved down my throat.  And now it’s here.  

Create problems that don’t exist so you can buy legislation to “fix” it. Classic playbook from that side. 

[Bobby Burton]

2 minutes ago, pinkman_90 said:

No you’re not an apologist.  That was some others.  But the Campbell media blitz is definitely propaganda.  Can’t watch a single CFB game without his stupid commercials being shoved down my throat.  And now it’s here.  

That’s fair. I just want college sports “fixed”. We just have to define and agree upon what “fixed” is before taking action. 

[Hashtag]

2 minutes ago, Bobby Burton said:

That’s fair. I just want college sports “fixed”. We just have to define and agree upon what “fixed” is before taking action. 

I’ll need Campbell and you I suppose to explain what exactly is broken. 

[harveycmd]

1 minute ago, Bobby Burton said:

That’s fair. I just want college sports “fixed”. We just have to define and agree upon what “fixed” is before taking action. 

The fix will necessarily include separation between the higher level football programs and those who aren't. The question is how many can truly compete in a real market. Those who argue the traditions must be maintained have already lost. That crumbled in 2021. The argument that CFB fans would go away has already been disproven. 

[Oldest Horn]

35 minutes ago, General Grant said:

He's positioning his school to be at the big kids table next go round.  I get that.  I just don't want to play that school unless it's in the postseason.  We haven't scheduled any Big 12 schools in football since we left, I support that informal boycott.

If we're waiting on the feds to make changes, that's lol and a non partisan lol.  Washington has full blown aids all around.

The Tech apologist thing is quite odd.  Let's get the SWC back together!

I don’t think it’s about being an apologist but more about why get all worked up over them. They have a right to compete and elevate their program the best they can. I certainly respect them more than aggy. 

[Thanos72]

5 hours ago, Bobby Burton said:

The issues facing college sports are so vast and so varied, it’s hard for anyone to truly grasp each aspect and the interplay between all of them.

Yet no person is trying to alter its future (or at least guide it) more than Cody Campbell, the chairman of the Texas Tech board of regents.

For those unaware, Campbell is a native Texan who played football for Mike Leach at Tech and then entered the professional world as an oil and gas man, eventually becoming a billionaire several times over.

I spoke to Campbell, who has been running national TV advertisements for two weeks opposing the Score Act during college football games, yesterday evening.

At the crux of Campbell’s argument are several vital suppositions:

1. College sports is a public trust. The people (you and I, and every other fan out there) own the assets since most of the universities are taxpayer funded or state-owned.

Sure, there are private schools like Harvard, SMU or Rice sprinkled in.

But Texans effectively own UT, A&M, Tech, etc. In fact, most of college football nation-wide is comprised of large state universities. For example, 15 of the 16 schools in the SEC are public entities.

So as owners of these universities, the public’s interest should come first.

That’s important because it deals with us - every single one of us - being stewards of the opportunities for future generations of students, whether that’s football, rowing, basketball, softball, baseball, volleyball, etc.

2. Campbell believes the current system is financially unsustainable for way too many colleges.

Most schools rely on football and basketball to prop up revenue for the rest of their athletic department. But if some schools can no longer compete at the highest level in those two sports, their revenue will dwindle. The concern is that Olympic sports will be cut either at the outset or eventually in a futile attempt to fund the revenue-makers.

The hardships, according to Campbell, are creating what amounts to a financial death spiral for college sports as we know it.

3. Players deserve a real seat at the table. The current involvement of student athletes in NCAA committees is both minimal and largely performative.

If there are two players and 10 beauracrats on a committee, who is anyone really listening to?

**

So what is Campbell actually proposing?

First, he’s trying to tackle the financial issue.

Campbell believes that TV and media rights holders are getting a steal.

College football is by all accounts the second most popular sport in America behind only the NFL.

Yet college sports media rights (all sports, not just football) are sold for less than half of what the fourth most popular sport (the NBA) receives.

According to Campbell, college sports receives approximately $5bn per year in media rights agreements from its various partners. The NBA, a less popular sport, by contrast is in the $10bn range.

How does that occur?

Market segmentation.

College football rights are sold in piecemeal fashion. The SEC does its own deal with ESPN. The Big 10, the Big 12, etc., all do the same.

Campbell believes, and he says consultants back these claims, if college football pooled its rights together, instead of working separately, that there would effectively be an additional $7bn in financial value created annually (or $70bn  over a 10-year time frame).

College sports would go from making $5bn a year to $12bn, thus being justly paid for being the second most popular sport. And that extra cash could be used to not only keep giving opportunities to all sports at all levels, it could also pay athletes their fair share of NIL.

On the surface, that sounds like a financial windfall, and a healthy plan for all.

But some, like the SEC and Big 10, likely think they would be carrying too much of the weight of other conferences. Why should Texas or Ohio State prop up Fresno State?

Well, Campbell is not naive. He doesn’t think all parties should be treated the same in every single aspect. He said obviously some schools or conferences might share disproportionately in the additional money that media pooling would provide.

And that’s where the negotiating would and should begin in Campbell’s mind.

Surely, the Big 12 will ask for more money than the SEC thinks the Big 12 deserves. And vice versa. Just like the conferences have jockeyed for guaranteed slots in an expanded college football playoff.

Campbell seems to welcome the negotiation on those topics. But he can’t do that unless (or until) the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 is repealed or amended.

**

Outside of the financial value brought about by the pooling of media rights, Campbell also believes there are other benefits to be gained by a repealing of the broadcast act.

He thinks college football could then exert more control over the future of the game rather than ceding too much of that to the TV networks.

The NFL is seen as a forward-thinking league who controls its media partners whereas college football is largely seen as a reactive one where the networks define the sport.

In college football, the tail wags the dog way too often.

Things such as times of games, match-ups, etc., could be easily altered.

For example, should Texas really be playing a 2:30 game at home in late August just because TV execs say so?

**

Campbell believes financial change is just one part of the long-term solution to college sports.

He believes there should be a parallel push for a new governing body other than the NCAA. The NCAA is “painfully beauracratic”, he says.

For example, he says they recently reduced the number of subcommittees to rule on an issue from roughly 90 to down to 30.

Thirty subcommittees? Good luck getting everyone on board in a timely manner.

No wonder it took the NCAA 3+ years and millions of dollars to deal with something as clear cut as the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

As part of a new governance, there should be true athlete representation and negotiation. That representation would cover everything from salary cap, to bargaining rights, scholarship minimums for all sports, and everything in between.

**

Campbell’s argument is sound and well thought out.

But it is concerning to the two major players in college football - the SEC and Big 10.

Both of those leagues would likely have to cede some of their control over league members and their ability to negotiate their own TV deals to a pooled-party.

Despite the potential financial windfall, the loss of control (or the threat of it) may be a bridge too far for the SEC or Big 10.

So that is why college sports is stuck. College football is a great sport but it’s unable to effectively define its own future because too many folks want to protect their piece of the pie.

**

Solutions must be negotiated.

Here’s a potential financial solution:

If the pooling of money could create an additional $7bn in revenue, why not apportion the additional revenue on the same pro rata basis as current TV networks do?

Would that work?

Is that enough to keep not just the football team afloat but also the volleyball team at Fresno State fully funded? Is that enough to make NIL legitimate at Texas,  Ohio State and Texas Tech in football and basketball?

I don’t know. But at least it’s a starting point for a discussion.

Whatever rout this takes, we know that rules need to be changed. And convention needs to be challenged.

Some smart folks need to get in a room and figure it out, not just keep kicking the can down the road.

**

To be clear, I’m not taking sides with Campbell, the SEC or the Big 10 here.

I simply want what’s best for college sports for the long term.

And what is that in my mind?

Not reducing opportunities for students across the country, increasing athlete representation, and exerting control over networks in the interest of what is best for the game and the universities.

The goals sound so simple.

How do we get there is the issue.

**

Thanks to Cody Campbell for his willingness to discuss this topic.

 

 

 

 

View full news story

 

How bout we have zero billionaires on the board? Oil men care about one thing and money is the other. 

If he’s against it, I’m inclined to think that’s it’s good for the rest of us. 

Who do you think you pays for the universities and tv money today? That 7 billion will be added to your streaming or cable bill. We pay for it all.

What happened to us a society? Why are people no longer viewed for what that are. Oil and casino money is historically super conscientious of others, amirite. You don’t overpay for players like cattle and then cry you’re just looking out for others. Like most billionaires, he helped create a problem so that he can fix it. The very worst thing that could happen to college football did by letting billionaires in. They’ve always been around but there were some rules and certainly not the sums and power being thrown around today. 

https://collegefootballnetwork.com/who-is-billionaire-cody-campbell/

He is a billionaire multi times over. He could literally set up an endowment that would cover all schools and their Olympics sports without any real impact to his overall wealth or lifestyle so wholly miss me with this is for kids or public. 

Was giving government more power to help the people?  On the board that says if you don’t have my views, you don’t get money. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/06/23/texas-governor-signs-bill-that-throttles-public-university-senates/

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/19/texas-legislature-higher-ed-lege-recap/

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-house-gives-initial-approval-bill-reshape-higher-education-courses/269-0babb10e-6588-434b-93a3-e2a16d77d98c

Your political side shouldn’t matter. These are power grabs and they’re happening everywhere. It’s really discouraging that you gave him this medium. Of course he wants to discuss it. I guess owning the education side isn’t enough. Now he wants the sports. That was also 3 seconds on Google without looking into it more. 

[harveycmd]

13 minutes ago, Thanos72 said:

How bout we have zero billionaires on the board? Oil men care about one thing and money is the other. 

If he’s against it, I’m inclined to think that’s it’s good for the rest of us. 

Who do you think you pays for the universities and tv money today? That 7 billion will be added to your streaming or cable bill. We pay for it all.

What happened to us a society?

Being a billionaire doesn't exclude him from the rest of us. What do you think gives the Longhorns the advantages they have? There may not be one guy, but it sure isn't the rest of us.

[Jarveaux]

1 hour ago, Bobby Burton said:

I find this whole discussion fascinating.

My take is that I like a lot of what Campbell is after. But with certain conditions applied, including the idea that certain teams/schools or conferences are worth more to any consortium.

agree 💯 percent Bobby!

[thatdude2]

4 hours ago, Bobby Burton said:

I find this whole discussion fascinating.

My take is that I like a lot of what Campbell is after. But with certain conditions applied, including the idea that certain teams/schools or conferences are worth more to any consortium.

I think the playoffs eventually expand to 32 teams. That would put max games played at 18, unless they go back to an 11 game season, and the max teams would play is 17. More fan bases and people would be bought into a season, and I think a 32 team football playoff would make a lot off money.

[Thanos72]

3 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Being a billionaire doesn't exclude him from the rest of us. What do you think gives the Longhorns the advantages they have? There may not be one guy, but it sure isn't the rest of us.

Of course it does. Beyond naive to think otherwise. Maybe I should have said most humans meaning anyone not a billionaire. I wouldn’t want Texas’ billionaires in charge either. It’s not the school, that’d be hypocritical. Not your billionaire but mine. Nah. Not how I live. 

[Neil Leininger]

10 hours ago, Hashtag said:

Cody Campbell supports socialism. 

Then all pro sports leagues practice socialism then, because you have 15 mid-major to major markets supporting 15 small markets.

[Neil Leininger]

Anything that gets rid of the stranglehold ESPN, the NCAA, and the bowl system have on college football is the correct path to take.

ESPN is already struggling for content, and have ready made content ready to go 5-6 days a week with the NFL and college football.

Edited 4 hours ago by Neil Leininger

[harveycmd]

13 minutes ago, Thanos72 said:

Of course it does. Beyond naive to think otherwise. Maybe I should have said most humans meaning anyone not a billionaire. I wouldn’t want Texas’ billionaires in charge either. It’s not the school, that’d be hypocritical. Not your billionaire but mine. Nah. Not how I live. 

You're pretty sure of yourself. I don't care how you live. That's not my business. Did Texas become one of the top football programs without billions of dollars?

[Stuey22]

6 hours ago, McCoy2Shipley said:

Let's not forget the Tech student who shoved Barryn Sorrell to the ground in 2022 after they rushed the field. Or their antics for Beard's trip back to Lubbock. The student section at the baseball series in 2024 was kicked out on Friday night when we played there. 

Or when the students took the goalposts and shoved them into the Aggie fan section…best bit ever.  Those are called genuine rivalries Holmes. But we get that with vandy…

[Hashtag]

12 minutes ago, Neil Leininger said:

Anything that gets rid of the stranglehold ESPN, the NCAA, and the bowl system have on college football is the correct path to take.

ESPN is already struggling for content, and have ready made content ready to go 5-6 days a week with the NFL and college football.

Yeah they are really struggling for content when they just acquired NFL network, redzone, and WWE!

[birdlaw5895]

I like college football. I like sec football, big 12 football, big 10 football (even tho it’s the most boring)… I’ll watch all of it …. Whatever helps all of it I’m all for 

I watched Hawaii play Stanford and it was exhilarating 😂

bring the money in and don’t let college football die in the name of 2 conferences, even if we’re in one of them

[harveycmd]

6 minutes ago, birdlaw5895 said:

I like college football. I like sec football, big 12 football, big 10 football (even tho it’s the most boring)… I’ll watch all of it …. Whatever helps all of it I’m all for 

I watched Hawaii play Stanford and it was exhilarating 😂

bring the money in and don’t let college football die in the name of 2 conferences, even if we’re in one of them

Cross of Gold speech by William Jennings Bryan. 

[birdlaw5895]

1 minute ago, harveycmd said:

Cross of Gold speech by William Jennings Bryan. 

Did have a few beers on a work night but I stand by it 

[harveycmd]

1 minute ago, birdlaw5895 said:

Did have a few beers on a work night but I stand by it 

Praise the Lord and pass the collection plate.

[harveycmd]

[Thanos72]

4 hours ago, harveycmd said:

You're pretty sure of yourself. I don't care how you live. That's not my business. Did Texas become one of the top football programs without billions of dollars?

I made the mistake of taking you off ignore. You wouldn’t recognize integrity because every position you have is with you in mind. You applied your logic into my post by trying to point out Texas has billionaires as if that would matter to my larger point. Now, your goalpost moving is that an entity, not an individual, needs x amount of dollars to be a top program. A false equivocation in any context but the real issue is that I think you believe what you say. I used to think it was a bit as some people thrive just being a pill to others.

Btw, Texas absolutely has a history of individual donors with far too much influence over the program. During those years, despite being flush with cash, Texas stunk. 

Short story long, thank you for reminding me to permanently put you back on ignore so that I don’t participate in gumming up a thread.

🤘🏽