So the new administration has, no surprise, rescinded the late 2024 Dept. of Education guidance that Title IX applies to college athlete compensation. This would seem to imply that, absent any new legislation that codifies an anti-trust exemption for college athletics that is tied to Title IX (currently unlikely), the House case and related court rulings will set the path for college athletics in the near term.

College softball won't be "protected" from budget cuts by Title IX, and athletic departments will in most cases logically prioritize football and basketball in their revenue sharing. While softball is one of the more popular "non-revenue" sports, it will remain funded at the whim of athletic directors - not because it is by itself profitable.

The sport really needs leadership, and I don't see where that is going to come from. It doesn't seem to be NFCA, and the semipro/summer leagues are still too fragile and unproven.

Interesting to see that the Power 4 (in reality, the Big 2 and also 2) have already taken steps to hire their own CEO to manage the post-House landscape, moving away from NCAA oversight and management for football.

It's time for someone to create a new vision, perhaps one integrating the college game with the potential of semi-pro leagues. (I say semipro, because even in the WNBA the compensation isn't enough for most to not have to side hustle to sustain a career.)

What if...

- The P4 creates their own governance structure, spinning off from being just another NCAA sport.
- That new P4SB negotiates their own broadcast rights, presumably at a greater valuation when bundled together, to raise revenues.
- The P4SB launches a summer semi-pro league that allows college players and alums to play a ~60 day summer season in some of the most popular college stadiums, realizing additional ticket and broadcast revenue.

But the key to all of this is leadership. Softball is producing athletes just as contextually dominant and exciting as Caitlyn Clark, but the game isn't advancing fast enough.

All the energy is at the college level, and maybe that's the foundation from which a new model can be built.