Andy Coats is neither a coach nor an athletic director. But when it comes to dramatic changes to the landscape of major universities, he is an influential figure.
A former president of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Coates successfully argued before the Supreme Court in 1984 that the NCAA’s administration of television rights violated federal antitrust law. Judge Byron “Wither” White, a former running back at the University of Colorado, told Coates at the time that even if he won the lawsuit, he would regret it.
“I’ve never regretted it,” said Coates, who continues to teach in the building that bears his name in Oklahoma. “But I certainly think a lot of what happened is throwing a dark cloud over the university.”
Nearly 40 years have passed since that important incident, and the shock continues to this day. At the Big Ten Conference in late June, it was announced that Southern California and UCLA would be added in 2024, setting the stage for his seven-year rights deal with Fox, NBC and CBS announced last week. .
In 2020, the SEC sold a package of basketball rights to The Walt Disney Company, making ESPN/ABC the home of SEC football. His 10-year deal, which starts in 2024, is worth at least $3 billion and is on top of his original 20-year, $2.25 billion contract that started in 2014. The SEC helped attract Texas and Oklahoma out of the Big 12. , another big set of changes coming into effect in 2025.
The latest salvo of the Big Ten and the SEC has ignited debate over whether media companies or conferences are most to blame for the economic arms race. Neither, but rather his NCAA v. Oklahoma Regents case 38 years ago.
Coates said royalties have been reduced for several years after the Supreme Court ruling. But as more networks became interested, the competition for the dollar increased.
“I think it was inevitable that this would happen. But there are some very distressing aspects to it,” Coates said.
Both the Big Ten and the SEC have also seen the power of expansion. The Big Ten set the table in 1990 when Penn State joined. The SEC went a step further by adding Arkansas and South Carolina, splitting them into divisions to host championship games starting in 1992.
Similar to the NFL, Power Five Conference revenue is dominated by income from media rights agreements (conferences, NCAA basketball tournaments, college football playoffs and bowl games).
Saturday’s Big Ten will soon be like the NFL. Teams from across the country, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the nation’s top three media markets, will be playing early games on Fox, late afternoons on CBS and Golden His Time on NBC.
“Linear TV may be dying in certain aspects, like scripted dramas and sitcoms, but when it comes to sports and news, it’s stronger than ever,” said Bob Thompson, former president of Fox Sports. “If you want a single event to get a ton of attention for the benefit of advertisers, live sports is still the way to go.”
ESPN is one of the biggest careers in college sports, but with increased competition from Fox, Saturday’s noon Eastern time slot is one of the hottest hours.
The Foxes competed in the Bowl Championship Series from 2006-2010, but received little coverage during the regular season. That has changed in recent years. Not only has Fox become the lead of the Big Ten in his career, but he’s also televised the Big 12 and Pac-12 games.
“There is no question that they put a lot of money into producing Big Noon Saturday. They don’t make decisions without much debate, and when they pursue something, they put the weight behind it.”
According to a database run by the Knight Commission and Syracuse University, 33% of Big Ten’s revenue in 2005 came from ticket sales ($202.4 million), media rights (22% or $133.5 million) and charitable donations (21%). %, $129.6 million). M).
In 2020, media accounted for 40% ($722.3 million), followed by ticket sales ($378.2 million) and donations ($129.6 million).
Big Ten and SEC could generate over $100 million in total media revenue per school by 2025.
“It’s amazing considering it wasn’t that long ago that the Big Ten could be touted as the first billion dollar conference. Now it’s not $100 million a year, it’s $1 billion a year.” says Garson. “But let’s also keep in mind that there is a level of competition that we’ve never seen before, because there are more suitors than there used to be.”
All the spending has raised new concerns about the future of major college athletics, but those concerns are not new.In 2011, then-LSU President Michael Martin told the Knight Commission: told to I’m not exactly sure what we do about it. ”
Martin’s comments seem to be getting more prophetic by the day.
“We had no idea how much staying power that response would have,” said Martin, now president of the Florida Gulf Coast.
Pac-12 and Big 12 will be the next conferences with rights available. Both conferences are in decline after losing their marquee programs, and are fighting each other over candidates for reorganization.
And then there is the ACC, which does not expire until 2036. Granting the right to congress carries substantial financial penalties for any school seeking to abolish.
“It seems inevitable that the SEC and the Big Ten will begin to completely dominate college football,” Coates said. And the quality of the games has led to a natural interest in bigger conferences.”
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AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this article.
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Follow Joe Reedy at www.Twitter.com/joeredy.
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