As my step-father’s mental health declined, he started espousing various conspiracy theories, once explaining to my wife how the the government seeded clouds with mental filings to allow reading people’s thoughts. He steadfastly believed theories of government control, that people were talking about him behind his back, anything but the reality presented to him.
This is the NCAA, insisting on their value-add to modern college athletics when in fact they continue to lose influence, control and power. Either they don’t understand or refuse to admit it; the rest of the college athletics world is all too aware.
My wife and I attended the opening rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Williams Arena, where the University of Minnesota won two games to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. What grabbed me is the omnipresence of NCAA logos and messaging, attempting to sell (explain?) their support of the oft-misnamed student-athletes. As much as possible, Williams Arena was de-Gopherized and revamped as an NCAA social media platform.
Perhaps small schools in minor conferences or non-revenue sports benefit from NCAA involvement – I don’t honestly know – but definitely not revenue sports in power conferences: name-image-license, transfer portal, revenue sharing agreements, million-dollar donations and more shows the gulf between the NCAA perceived vision and current realities. This is not new: the 1984 US Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma ultimately removed college football from the NCAA’s control. Northwestern football players were denied the right to unionize based on the inequalities with the rest of the Big Ten, all public institutions. Name-image-license was forced through against the NCAA’s desires when individual states passed laws for paying athletes and which would have resulted in a very uneven playing field (no pun intended). While talks about creating a standardized framework via federal legislation continue, state judges issue rulings against long-held eligibility rules (and subsequently reversed). In the meantime, the NCAA is impotent, attempt to react to what’s dumped on them.
Image Credits
- Images © 2026 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved.
What is the end-game? I fully expect the power conferences to leave the NCAA and create a new framework for college athletics based on their definition of college athletics (more money). The remaining schools likely stay in the NCAA based on necessity, ultimately forcing the NCAA back to its original amateur ideals that have been left behind. Until then, the confusion will continue to be out-of-control, to the benefit of those with major financial pockets.
