Long Beach State Sports : Re: College Sports in General

As the football tournament has grown from 2 to 4 to 8 to 12 and now to 24 teams the basketball tournament continues to add teams from 64 to 68 and next year to 76 teams.

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I agree that 8 teams in the Div 1 Football tourney are all that's needed. But, because going to 24 teams will bring in huge TV dollars, it will likely never be 8 again. Remember when it was only 4 teams?

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I think we have plenty of D1 institutions. In today's climate, I relate my experience more to D2 athletes than I do D1 attitude nowadays. I loved the sport, and wanted to compete at the highest level. I don't see many colleges adding athletics at the highest level going forward.

But the rumors of the P2 split are growing. Anytime you hear of institutions wondering if independent status might be better than staying in the ACC, things are getting real. Sure the Big Ten just said they are happy at their membership level. Then they'll say the changing landscape made it important to reevaluate their position. Remember when the Big Ten, Pac-12, and ACC announced the alliance in 2021? A year later USC and UCLA were leaving, and the next Oregon and Washington.

The conferences have gotten too big to have real meaning so we lose conference championships because the conferences don't make sense. 24 team playoff with 8 SEC teams and 8 BigTen is on the horizon. It's three times larger than it needs to be. 8 teams was perfect. 4 Conference champions, 1 G5/6, plus 3 at larges that we get to argue about. 12 adds 4 more at larges and satisfied ESPN. Bowl games still matter at 8 teams, tougher sell at 12. They're dead at 24.

The commitment of fully funding scholarships is now triple what it was 4 years ago, and that's before NIL. The scrappy team that could swing up is all but gone. Maybe the Feds clean it up a little, but its forever changed.

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From the D! Ticker
The DI Membership Committee is recommending the DI Board of Directors introduce legislation to change the DI reclassification application fee to be “based on six times the amount of the estimated annual average value of direct benefits through distribution and championships made available to Division I members.” Here’s the thesis…
➤ “This recommendation reflects the committee’s conclusion that the current application fee undervalues Division I membership. The increased application fee is based on the fewest number of years that a reclassifying institution needs to move from entering the reclassification process to becoming fully eligible to receive DI revenue distribution. It more accurately reflects the value of Division I membership, retains the legislation’s existing refund provisions, mitigates the dilution of revenue distribution for members of the division and helps position the division to address any championships-related pressures a larger division may face. Further, the increased application fee helps a reclassifying institution demonstrate its financial commitment to Division I’s philosophy, operating principles and student-athlete experience.”
➤ Currently, the DI application fee is $1.96M and is equal to the estimated annual average value of direct benefits. If approved, the change would apply to schools entering the reclassification process in 2027-28. The BoD is set to meet on Tuesday. (link, link, link)