Posted by F. McGiggles on February 13, 2025, 9:59 am
So the new administration has, no surprise, rescinded the late 2024 Dept.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.
Re: The Winds of Change
Posted by Wrong board on February 14, 2025, 2:19 pm, in reply to "The Winds of Change"
I would prefer that you limit your posts to "how good are the bandits" and stay away from academic pursuits!
Re: The Winds of Change
Posted by Hopeful on February 14, 2025, 2:05 pm, in reply to "The Winds of Change"
If Title IX is not protected, then say goodbye to softball. No way can it support itself now. With the BIG Ten spanning from coast to coast, and the SEC growing as the same rate, the sheer travel costs will be too much to absorb. It would take leadership, yes. Can softball generate enough dollars for a leader to care about the sport we love?
I really feel like NCAA softball was turning the growth corner. But without financial backing to get the sport to the next level, it will likely perish like the NPF did...
Re: The Winds of Change
Posted by @FM on February 13, 2025, 4:09 pm, in reply to "The Winds of Change"
Saw that Coach Geno from UConn spoke about this yesterday. Said that removing the Title 9 piece would make things harder for women's sports.
