Editor’s note: This letter is in response to Rob DiGisi’s column, “The market is dictating evolution of college sports, but where will it go?” appearing in the Aug. 30 edition of our Unpacks newsletter.
Almost weekly, college athletics is changing right before our eyes. It has been stuck in a “cocoon stage of sports” for a while and has now begun the next stage of its evolution. When it’s finished, we won’t recognize it compared to what everyone is used to. From the caterpillar stage (with hundreds of stakeholders going in every direction possible) to a new creation. We are seeing the “creative destruction” of athletics. I also reflect on my longtime friend Bill Carr’s (former AD at the University of Florida) perspective. He embraces the term of the “crucible decade” of college athletics and student athletes.
This is the first of many crucible moments. Expanded football playoffs, NIL, new league members, the portal, growth of women’s athletics, the eventual entry of private equity (keep an eye on Saudi investments with one university leading the charge); even a college game exported to Dubai. It has worked in Ireland, right? Lots of new ideas are coming. The big will only get bigger. And the small will struggle.
On that point, how about the smaller schools, pivoting into a “Spring College FB championship”? Imagine the energy of non-Power Five schools playing football in the spring. Naysayers will say no. But look at where we are now. Imagine the networks’ appetite to cover such a season. New superstar discoveries. New heroes, and opportunities for the unseen player. Some won’t like it. The PGA Tour season is 10 months long. Why can’t college football do the same thing? Look at where we are now.
So, what’s next?
Alex Vergara
Founder and chief storyteller, AV Consulting Group
Orlando
Questions about OPED guidelines or letters to the editor? Email editor Jake Kyler at jkyler@sportsbusinessjournal.com
