Big 12 Aggressively Pursuing Deregulation Of Conference Title Games
The Big 12 is aggressively pursuing a proposal for the deregulation of conference title games. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said this week that the proposal has already cleared several hurdles, and he “fully expects” it will pass.
If you thought the Big 12 would have to expand in order to host a title game and avoid getting left out of the College Football Playoff again, I’ve got some news for you.
No, the Big 12 isn’t expanding. Instead, they’ve been aggressively pursuing a proposal that would deregulate title games, meaning there would no longer be a 12-team requirement in order to host a conference title game.
Bowlsby has said in the past the Big 12 wouldn’t necessarily host a championship game – even if it was permissible – but if the resolution passes in January, the Big 12 could potentially host a game as early as 2016.
The primary impetus behind adding a title game wouldn’t be revenue generation – at least not from the title game itself (the SEC Championship Game is the only real cash cow in terms of conference title games). Instead, the Big 12 would hope that adding a title game would assist the conference’s top-ranked team in making it to the College Football Playoff.
Many believed TCU should have been in the semifinals last season, but the Horned Frogs dropped from #3 to #6 in the final ranking. A drop many attributed to the lack of a conference championship game.
From a direct revenue standpoint, landing in a “host bowl” instead of the College Football Playoff equates to a $2 million loss for the conference. From an indirect standpoint, it likely means tens of millions in lost “advertising value” for the school.
NCAA to daily fantasy sports sites: stay away from our championships
The NCAA recently sent a letter to both DraftKings and FanDuel barring them from advertising during championship events. This would include television broadcasts, many of which are carried on ESPN.
ESPN, if you’re not aware, signed a huge $250 million deal with DraftKings last year, although the ads were suspended in the wake of the recent insider trading allegations.
David Purdum, reporting on ESPN.com, says the ban on advertising from the daily sports sites will apply to men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, although Turner Sports and CBS – who carry the men’s tournament – declined to comment.
The College Football Playoff, which is not considered an NCAA championship event, has not yet made any decisions regarding daily fantasy sports advertising in conjunction with its games.
Loss of value policy pays out $3 million for one former student athlete
Loss of value insurance policies have become all the rage for elite student athletes. A loss of value policy protects against any income lost if a player drops in the NFL Draft due to injury. Last year, several schools bought policies for star student athletes, including Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Prior to last season, schools thought it would be an NCAA violation to purchase insurance for student athletes. However, Texas A&M asked for – and received – a clarification that opened the door for several schools to reimburse student athletes or outright buy policies.
One of the student athletes who was reimbursed for his policy was Oregon’s Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who will become the first player to collect on a policy. Ekpre-Olomu will receive $3 million, which represents the difference between where he was expected to land in the first round compared to where he landed in the seventh round of the NFL Draft.
Former USC standout Marqise Lee was set to be the first player to collect on a policy, but he had to sue Lloyd’s of London earlier this year to attempt to collect on his policy.
I wrote a piece for SportsBusiness Journal earlier this year about these policies if you’re interested in learning more about them and how schools cover the expense.
