Any athletic conferences who cannot survive without handouts from real schools is insolvent and should not be playing. It is not the Big 10, the SEC or the ACC’s job to fund smaller schools. That may sound calloused but it is true. Does the NFL pay the XFL to stay open? It is a shame if these schools cannot afford to play but it is their own fault for becoming financially dependent on handouts from large schools that are just not sustainable through any sort of economic calamity. It didn’t have to be a pandemic... What if a simple economic trend like people cutting the cord and moving away from cable had crippled these networks spending hundreds of millions on tv contracts? Then the power 5 would no longer be able to easily afford these payouts and the same thing happens without a pandemic. This exact scenario was playing out before covid. ESPN has been laying people off at a fevered pitch the past few years (NO it has nothing to do with their politics), Because people do not subscribe to cable nearly as much any more so their revenue share is way down... Does anyone really think they can keep sinking hundreds of millions into college football TV deals indefinitely? The sport as we know it is being threatened, and only the strong will survive. This ironically may the catalyst for change that causes the power 5 to leave the NCAA AND DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY going forward. Fingers crossed for that!
