Are Greg Sankey and Tony Petiti losing their stranglehold on college football?

It appears the commissioners of the two most powerful college conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, might be. Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports that SEC and Big Ten schools were represented at a secret meeting on Tuesday to discuss Smash Sports’ “Project Rudy,” a plan similar to Cody Campbell’s that would pool college football media rights together in an effort to make more money. 

Project Rudy shares a similar approach to Campbell’s Saving College Sports initiative: 

• It would amend the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, with the promise of doubling the TV money available to schools.

• It would optimize college football scheduling to produce better non-conference matchups every season.

• It would create a new governing body for college sports. 

Smash Capital, which owns Smash Sports, would supply private capital to hold schools over until the early 2030s, when the major conference TV contracts expire, and a joint deal could be struck. 

This would be a huge win for everyone, but especially the Big 12 and ACC. The biggest brands in the SEC and Big Ten would still make more money than they do now, but some Big 12 and ACC schools could close the gap entirely on a large chunk of those programs.

Here’s how the money distribution tiers were described by Smash Sports in a 2024 Yahoo article:

- Tier 1: the top 16 schools earn per-school revenue projections from $130 million in Year 4, escalating to $250 million in Year 12 (double the SEC and Big Ten’s current distribution rate).

- Tier 2: the next 22 schools earn revenue of $60-$110 million (similar to the SEC and Big Ten current rates).

- Tier 3: the last 32 schools earn projections of $30-$60 million (similar to the Big 12 and ACC rates).

Schools could also play their way into a higher tier, giving non-SEC and Big Ten programs far more control over their future than they have now. 

Plus, the introduction of a new governing body would immediately strip a lot of power away from Sankey and Petiti. If there’s a separate entity looking out for the greater good of the sport, two leagues can’t make all the decisions anymore.

What a concept. 

Dellenger reports that representatives from Penn State, USC, LSU, Clemson, Louisville, SMU, Texas Tech, Boise State, Michigan, TCU, Maryland, and others were all included in Tuesday’s secret meeting. That includes LSU’s university president. 

That’s very significant. The Big Ten and SEC attendees went despite the fact that Sankey and Petiti commissioned a paper within the last week denouncing the very ideas being presented at the meeting. 

They’re starting to lose control of the narrative. 

It’s now abundantly clear why the two conferences sent their paper to Congress. They know both Campbell and Smash Sports are making significant progress toward getting public and government sentiment on their side. 

I’m not naive enough to think that all of Campbell and Smash Sports’ ideas are going to become a reality. 

Creating a new governing body is a logistical nightmare, especially if it involves the federal government. Without collective bargaining, any kind of salary cap on coaches or players is a long shot. And the conference realignment toothpaste isn’t going back in the tube.

The positive sign is that the tide may finally be turning away from a college sports world run exclusively by Sankey and Petiti, catering to the whims of just 34 schools, many of whom are just lucky to have won the geographic lottery. 

Remember when it felt inevitable that the SEC and Big Ten would force through an expanded playoff, guaranteeing themselves four auto bids each while the Big 12 and ACC only got two?

The two leagues banded together to push back, and it worked. That idea is now dead in the water. 

It’s taken some creativity and real fight, but the non-Power Two world has found a way to legitimately fire back at the SEC and Big Ten. 

And that’s good news for everybody long term, even the two leaders who constantly threaten to kill the college sports golden goose.

What You Need to Know

• Arizona beat Iowa State on Monday to secure an outright Big 12 championship. The Wildcats look like the best team in the country. 

• Here’s an updated Big 12 men’s tournament bracket heading into the final day of the regular season. 

• Cincinnati didn’t move much in Joe Lundardi’s latest Bracketology despite a blowout win over BYU. 

• Bowl games could undergo massive changes soon. Here’s Ross Dellenger with the latest on a potentially dire situation for college football tradition. 

• Getting the old Big Eight back together? West Virginia to the Big East? Here’s a best-case conference realignment scenario to have some fun with. 

• K-State has zeroed in on two coaches in its search to replace Jerome Tang. 

• Collin Klein added a beloved K-State alum to his coaching staff. 

• A former Kansas Jayhawks star says he would have never made it to the NBA if he had big-time NIL money in college.

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