The Knight Commission released a proposal to "require the NCAA, the College Football Playoff and Division I conferences to restructure how they distribute more than $3 billion in annual revenue," according to Heather Dinich of ESPN.com. The commission's report released yesterday aims "to curb what it describes as 'a runaway financial race that threatens to upend and undermine the educational model of college athletics.'" The Knight Commission estimated that "annual distributions are likely to surpass $4.5 billion in the next several years." It also concluded that "systemic change is necessary." The commission proposed "five core principles of the model -- transparency, independent oversight, gender equity, broad-based sports opportunities and financial responsibility -- to be adopted 'in law, regulation, and/or conference rules to guide the financial system.'" The model provided "suggestions, not mandates, for the conferences to consider." One example was that "conferences could require each Division I institution to spend an amount equal to at least 50% of 'shared athletics revenue distributions' on the education, health, safety and well-being of college athletes and/or university academics." The report also reccomended an independent oversight entity, which "should be led by a majority of people who are not employed by the NCAA, CFP, member institutions or media partners and at least one-third should comprise current and former college athletes" (ESPN.com, 9/15).
