What Autonomy Really Means for SMU

[Stallion]

Never question SMU Victim Syndrome on this Board-we were SCREWED!!!!!!!!!! All 5 times in 12 years even though we continued meeting Payroll even after the 5th set of violations

[RGV Pony]

Gotta recognize resiliency when you see it

[RebStang]

This is a particularly interesting thread to see on the night that the SEC Network made its debut and is already claiming to be in 80 million households.

Think about the ramifications of that. If the numbers I'm hearing are correct, a lower/mid-level "A5" program like Ole Miss is going to suddenly become a program with a $100 million a year athletic budget.

When you look at that in the context of the whole "Autonomy" thing, it's going to be a situation where the lower tier programs just have to say "We can't do this. We can't keep up."

[WordUpBU]

This is a particularly interesting thread to see on the night that the SEC Network made its debut and is already claiming to be in 80 million households.

Think about the ramifications of that. If the numbers I'm hearing are correct, a lower/mid-level "A5" program like Ole Miss is going to suddenly become a program with a $100 million a year athletic budget.

When you look at that in the context of the whole "Autonomy" thing, it's going to be a situation where the lower tier programs just have to say "We can't do this. We can't keep up."

1- They may use it to reduce subsidy.

2- They will have higher obligations (Autonomy's Full Cost of Attendance, Obannon) that eat that up

3- ESPN owns half the thing so it being more than 10 million per school after expenses in the initial years is going to be unlikely IMO. If I am wrong I am wrong but the BTN only kicked off 7-8 million AFTER rollout.

[CalallenStang]

This is a particularly interesting thread to see on the night that the SEC Network made its debut and is already claiming to be in 80 million households.

Think about the ramifications of that. If the numbers I'm hearing are correct, a lower/mid-level "A5" program like Ole Miss is going to suddenly become a program with a $100 million a year athletic budget.

When you look at that in the context of the whole "Autonomy" thing, it's going to be a situation where the lower tier programs just have to say "We can't do this. We can't keep up."

The thing is, Ole Miss can't do anything that Wake Forest can't do. The SEC may take in a ton more cash, but the ACC is just as much a partner in autonomy. And you can bet the lower-revenue A5 conferences won't approve anything that they can't do themselves just because the SEC has a new network.

Autonomy rules will be adopted at SMU and will cost us $8m-$10m a year (the cost is my guess based on no analysis whatsoever). Like-minded non-A5 schools will realign to do the same. The schools that Autonomy really hurts are schools like South Alabama and Georgia State. They can't afford increased costs. The established programs can.

O'Bannon is something else altogether. That ruling could eventually be justification for Pony Express-style slush funds

[PonySnob]

Can SMU really afford it either?

[birddogger]

I don't think this has been raised, but my apologies if I have overlooked it. Why must we assume that every penny of these TV contracts will go to the athletic departments? It doesn't square with history.

State universities are struggling for $$$ as the economy has caused state legislatures to tighten academic budgets (perhaps the public TX universities are different). For example, LSU hasn't been allowed to increase tuition appreciably for several years; nevertheless, its appetite for expansion (new buildings, facilities, and ever-expanding administration) hasn't waned. I suspect other publicly-funded schools are in the same boat. For example, an inside source of mine at UT tells me that the university is looking at every angle for $$, including billing students for internet usage, because it hasn't been allowed to raise tuition.

Legislators will look to TV revenues to offset increased costs across the board. Remember how the state lotteries were supposed to fund education? They do, but the legislators freeze or reduce appropriations for education by nearly the same amount of lottery revenues, so the amount original designated is returned to the state's general budget and there is little or no real net benefit to education.

Suppose LSU or Ole Miss rakes in $100 million. I'm willing to bet the majority of that revenue will not be allocated to athletics. And quite possibly, some of that will be used to fund other schools within the LSU system or the other have-not publicly-funded schools in Mississippi.

The whole point of this is to say that the impact of P5 may not be as huge financially as we might assume, because the schools won't get to keep the lion's share of $$$. Mind you, I don't think for a minute that a lot of those $$$ won't be spent on athletics, but the state-funded schools may have little say in how much they keep. Privates such as TCU, Baylor, Stanford, Vandy, NW and Wake will benefit tremendously from this deal, however, and it saddens me that we're on the outside looking in. This would have been huge for SMU.

[redpony]

IMO the end of this season will be very telling as to the future of fball at SMU. We must hire a top level coach and assistants who will recruit Tx. We need the CofC to continue to fund the coaching staff etc. and do what is necessary to keep us in the game. I am not at all confident that this will happen. RGT and casper have shown that mediocrity in fball is totally acceptable. In fact, I suspect that deep down RGT would be much happier with a Div II or III fball program where he won't have to worry about funding and shortfalls. The future looks very cloudy at best.

[ponyinNC]

I posted this on another realignment board but thought it relevant:

life isn't fair, we all know that...and many G5 programs deserve to be included over bottom-feeding P5 schools (should a split occur). unfortunately, like a game of musical chairs, some folks are left without a seat when the song stops. it is arbitrary and unfair, but such is capitalism in America. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

SMU was once on par with or better than our SWC brothers, including Arkansas, UT, TAMU, Tech, TCU, Baylor, et al. We did not keep up...some of it was our fault, some of it was the NCAA's fault. Either way, it is what it is, and we are now closer to being Rice than we are to being TCU.

I don't blame the major P5 programs for wanting to keep all of the money. If you get 80k + fans to attend your games, you are doing something right and deserve it. If you are only getting 20k in attendance, you are probably better suited for a lower division.

My problem is with the bottom-tier P5 being included in all of this $$ grabbing, as they are no different than the upper crust of the G5. Therein lies the problem for me - but I think over time, you will see the real P5 schools with actual power break away from those lower schools. Why should UT share anything with Iowa St or Kansas? Why should Ohio St share anything with Northwestern? Why should FSU share anything at all with Wake Forest (a school no different from my own SMU!).

Be careful what you wish for P5 - you might just get it.

[Stallion]

I believe in Texas each state university was given authority to raise its own tuition several years ago-and it has risen rapidly since then

[birddogger]

Then I stand corrected, but I do know that UT is looking for new ways to raise revenues. In any event, expect the legislatures of many SEC schools to poach those big TV revenues.

[smusportspage]

getting the dp hurt us a tad.
we never recovered.
thanks ut.

What did UT have to do with it? It's not like they got the NCAA to put in the repeat violator clause or got Stopperich/Andrews to snitch.

You are young aren't you. Sometimes life teaches a person these things.

[smusportspage]

Never question SMU Victim Syndrome on this Board-we were SCREWED!!!!!!!!!! All 5 times in 12 years even though we continued meeting Payroll even after the 5th set of violations

Stallion, you are in denial again

[Stallion]

I'm not in denial-I followed the Death Penalty closer than any one on this board. I know when I was in denial. When Chairman of the Board of Governors Bill Clements stood before national TV reporters after the 4th probation in 11 years and said that the cheating had stopped while at the same time authorizing the continuation of payments. I was just like every one of you homers blaming everyone but the real cancer on the Hilltop and the nest of idiots running the school. Based on the written standards of the NCAA and the undisputed evidence of lack of institutional control the Death Penalty became an open/shut legal case. See Dictionary for the Definition of Lack of Institutional Control and you will find a picture of SMU and Bill Clements

[smusportspage]

Speeking of Lack of Institutional Control. Now that you have brought it up. How does this fly with the P5 autonomy. How do you have institiutional control with automony. The very difinition of autonomy is the right of self government. Pretty convenient isn't it? Even you should see the insanity of this.
You can say that SMU had all the institutional control they needed. They were running things exactly as they liked it. Now, if you are talking the NCAA as an institution, then that is a different story. Whicn institution is going to have control? I don't see the NCAA exactly controlling anything at this point.