Imagining a season free of the NCAA

As fall camp edges closer (even with the football season now delayed until late September), confusion over whether or not NCAA football will be played (and in what form it will take place) has not subsided. It likely won’t for the next few months, so we should all be ready to ride these waves as they come.

This week, we’re specifically watching what will come out of and after the NCAA’s meeting on Tuesday to decide the fate of college fall sports. This is a separate decision from FBS football, which comes with its own set of complications, and an unfavorable ruling could trigger a series of chain reactions around college sports. Specifically, the Power 5 is already considering a split in the fall of 2020.

In anticipation of the NCAA Board of Governors potentially canceling or postponing fall sports championships, Power 5 conference leaders have begun exploring the possibility of staging their own championships in those affected sports, multiple sources have told Sports Illustrated. This could be seen as a first step toward a long-theorized breakaway from the NCAA by the 65 schools that play college sports at the highest level.

Here at Ole Mizzou, we've got some strong, unkind feelings about the NCAA. And while I’d feel conflicted (at best) about the prospect of athletes playing this fall, I don’t hate the idea of a rift emerging between the governing body of college sports and the conferences that actually hold the power.

What could complicate matters, however, is the ongoing protest of Pac-12 players... and the others that could potentially follow.

Of course, I’m not basing my speculations on any sort of insider information — for all we know, the Pac-12 is the only conference that has been dealt this hand. However, it seems far-fetched to think players from other conferences haven’t considered the same thing. After all, I wrote last week that college athletes are perhaps the least incentivized to continue playing right now considering. You would have to think that a lot of athletes will have their eyes on how this plays out (including how quickly things are or aren’t resolved), and that similar actions could be taken by others.

In other words, happy Monday, y’all. It’s another wacky week in trying to navigate the landscape of college sports. Get ready to be in a completely different stratosphere by the time next Monday rolls around.

Yesterday at Rock M

• Mizzou’s Post-Norm Stewart recruiting pool is wide with varied results

More Links:

• Receivers coach Bush Hamdan has high hopes (and expectations) for a revamped Tiger receiving corps, which now includes two graduate transfers and a host of returning names.
• Dan Wolken at USA Today editorialized on the wave of college football players exercising their rights to protest and call for change within the sport as the season inches closer and closer.
• Gabe DeArmond’s Sunday editorial tackled the issue of recruiting care in the age of COVID-19, while Sean Williams zeroed in on the recruitment of Arden Walker (both for subscribers). All readers can access the staff’s take on the Tiger Defensive Line headed into camp.
• Sophie is out here doing the little things, and we’re here for it.

• Tiger alum EJ Gaines isn’t taking any chances with COVID-19

• Can we type eyeball emojis on Chorus? We can’t? OK, then just imagine I added several above this tweet.

• Finally, rest in power to Dr. Gus T. Ridgel. What a legacy to have left at the University of Missouri.

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