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Power Four seek more control over NCAA policies, including running championship events: report

By The Associated Press

A proposal from the nation’s four largest conferences would give them more authority over rule-making, policy decisions and postseason events such as March Madness, Yahoo Sports reported Thursday.

The proposal, described as a “working document” ahead of next week’s NCAA convention, would grant the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC rights to manage postseason championships such as the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Those events, worth more than $1 billion in revenue to the 1,100 schools of the NCAA, have long been run by the association.

The so-called power conferences already have existing autonomous legislative powers that separate them from other NCAA member leagues. They are seeking even more control as the distance between the Power Four and everyone else grows in terms of revenue and prestige.

The proposal, Yahoo reported, would create a new subdivision within the NCAA umbrella, a prospect raised by NCAA President Charlie Baker in December 2023. Baker’s plan, offered as a starting point for discussion, called for the creation of a new tier of NCAA Division I sports where schools would be required to offer at least half their athletes a payment of at least $30,000 per year through a trust fund.

Since then, the NCAA and the power conferences, including the Pac-12, agreed to a $2.8 billion settlement of antitrust claims that clears the way for paying athletes directly — up to $20.5 million per school — beginning later this year if a judge gives final approval.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo the proposal is only a conversation-starter as all of Division I leaders examine a new governance model.

“There have been seven to eight months of discussions about the NCAA governance decision-making process,” Sankey told the outlet. “We have a responsibility to develop an idea. We’ve circulated this with our conferences. We’ve let the NCAA president know. This is an important time for change. We think it is important to provoke thought.”

Sankey is a member of the Division I Decision Making Group, which is considering potential changes to the NCAA governance model that is being remade as amateurism gives way to a more professionalized system.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, a member of the NCAA Board of Governors, said the hope is to find a governance structure that “fits” modern college athletics.

Brett Yormark, commissioner of the Big 12, called the proposal part of a “complete review of the entire model” and a necessary “modification” to provide greater authority to the power leagues.

“We have no desire to compromise what makes college athletics so special, but instead we want to make necessary adjustments to reflect where the industry is going,” he said in a statement to Yahoo Sports.

The Associated Press contributed to this article