News

Filter by year:

Knight Commission Recommends a New Governing Structure for the Sport of FBS Football

[NCAA would govern all other sports in reorganized Division I governance]

After a year-long examination, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics called today for major governance changes for Division I sports, proposing a new governing entity for the sport of football at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, separate from the NCAA. The NCAA would govern all other sports in a reorganized Division I governance, and schools with FBS football programs would remain part of the NCAA in all other sports except football.

ESPN: Knight Commission Endorses Split from NCAA

ESPN offered a detailed look at our Division I reform proposal:

A commission of college athletics leaders recommended Thursday that the best way to repair the NCAA’s “broken governance model” is to remove the teams of the Football Bowl Subdivision from the association, forcing the top level of college football to govern itself as a separate entity.

The Knight Commission, a reform-minded independent group of university presidents, former athletic directors and others, spent the past year studying the current state of college sports before making its recommendation.

After surveying a wide swath of college sports stakeholders, the group said it discovered that many leaders in the industry believe the time has come for significant change. It decided that the most effective way to solve a variety of problems is to separate football — an outlier of a sport because of the vast and quickly increasing difference in the revenue it generates.

View the full article at ESPN.com

USA Today: Influential Panel Proposes Separating Major College Football from the NCAA

The nation’s largest circulation newspaper did a thorough takeout on our reform ideas for Division I sports, including separating the sport of FBS football from the NCAA:

An influential leadership group has proposed sweeping changes to the Division I model that would distinguish the Football Bowl Subdivision from the NCAA, transforming the highest level of competition in the sport into a separate entity responsible for its own governance and revenue distribution.

The suggestions offered by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which is composed of current and former leaders in education and athletics, include the formation of the National College Football Association, a new governing body outside of the NCAA umbrella.

“Our commission recognizes that far-reaching governance reform will not take place overnight,” said commission co-chair Arne Duncan, the former U.S. Secretary of Education. “At the same time, it believes that discussion on a new governance structure for Division I can, should and must begin immediately.”

View the full article at USAToday.com

Knight Commission to Announce Major Recommendations to Transform the NCAA Division I Model

[Proposed reforms will culminate year-long examination of college sports]

On Thursday, Dec. 3, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics will release its recommendations for significant reform of the NCAA Division I model. The proposed reforms will be unveiled at the fourth and final virtual forum of the Knight Commission’s year-long examination of Division I, Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: A 4-Part Series.

Knight Commission to Release Major Survey of Division I Leaders at Forum on Oct. 13

[Results reveal campus leaders' views on pressing issues facing college sports and proposals for transformative change]

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics will release results of a groundbreaking survey of Division I campus leaders’ opinions on significant college sports reforms proposals, such as capping sports’ budgets and major reorganizations of the current Division I model. The reorganizations surveyed include creating a new NCAA division for Power 5 sports and separating FBS football into its own independent, operating entity.

Knight Commission to Seek Changes to How NCAA Distributes March Madness Revenue

[TODAY: Commission to discuss new analysis that highlights inequities in the annual NCAA distribution formula]

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics today will propose in a virtual public session changes to the NCAA’s March Madness revenue distribution, which sends nearly $600 million to its 351 Division I schools every year. In addition to this direct funding to Division I schools, March Madness revenues support both NCAA operations and 90 national championships for 24 sports across all three membership divisions, which include more than 1,000 colleges and universities.

Knight Commission to Highlight Inequities in Division I Revenue Distribution at Second Virtual Forum

[Session will feature former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and findings from a new analysis]

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics will hold the second virtual forum of its four-part series on the NCAA Division I model and the need for reform. This 60-minute forum, A New Analysis of the D-I Revenue Distribution Formula Inequities, will examine the financial distributions from Division I’s two marquee events: the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the FBS College Football Playoff.