Youngstown State President Bill Johnson is using his experience as a former U.S. Congressman to guide a coalition of 10 mid-major conferences as they lobby on Capitol Hill. Johnson tells SBJ’s Ben Portnoy: “There’s an old saying in the legislative branch: ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.’ Setting up this coalition of non-Power Four schools to make sure that Congress understands how important it is to create a fair and level playing field, and a sustainable path forward for all student athletes, is vitally important.” Portnoy explains that the coalition, which includes the Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big West, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Ohio Valley, Southern, Summit, Western Athletic and West Coast conferences, initially grew out of discussions between Johnson and Horizon League Commissioner Julie Roe Lach, and Lach notes: “I sought his counsel to just say, ‘What’s your take in terms of the need for us to ensure that our voices are being heard and we’re influencing whatever role Congress ultimately takes in this college sports landscape?’ And he very quickly said, ‘We absolutely need to ensure that not just our voices are heard, but that we’re represented in real time.’” WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson: “We’re not trying to be adversarial. We’re actually trying to be collaborative, and, dare I say, cooperative with the Power Four and their wishes. We understand their problems are a lot different than the problems of mid-major conferences like ours. It’s just, we want to level the playing field by having some assurance that it won’t compromise revenue distribution to conferences and institutions like ours, and that we continue to have access to NCAA championships.”