There is a growing financial divide in college sports.
With a whole range of issues facing Congress from the Russia-Ukraine War to inflation, you would think that the day-to-day business operation of the college sports industry would not be an issue that would carry importance. But Congress seems to be in the battle of who should control the college sports industry. Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson is leading the lobbying effort on the Hill to make sure smaller college conferences are not trample on by the big time college conferences. Johnson figures to have some clout. He used to be a Congressman from Ohio. The coalition includes the Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big West, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Ohio Valley, Southern, Summit, Western Athletic, and West Coast conferences. The coalition was formed in July and its first step was to send a letter to various members of Congress outlining the group’s concern with the business of college sports.
The smaller college and university programs are dealing with money issues such as name, image and likeness deals. Those schools might be able to sign athletes because they cannot come up with money. Congress, so far, has not been able to do anything to level out the playing field. College heads want to impose some kind of salary cap on the so-called student-athletes. The big boys running the big conferences seem to be poaching other conferences to get bigger and bigger and that is becoming a problem for smaller conferences trying to keep schools from jumping to the larger conferences. The small conference leaders are concerned that those conferences may be pushed aside as college sports becomes more and more professional by the day. The big problem is money. The smaller conferences want to keep programs going but at what cost. Congress is being asked to solve the college sports money divide.
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