Alabama Football: Whatever fall brings college football will never be the same

Alabama Football: Change is coming to CFB and after it will never be the same.

What lies ahead for Alabama football and other programs can be termed a sea change or a tipping point. What college football will become cannot be foreseen. What is almost assured is change will be fundamental and lasting.

Hopefully, the majority of change will be for the better. Good things will occur, but along with them will come downsides. Not every program will equally share good fortune. Some will perhaps incur considerable misfortune. Other sports, especially men’s basketball will also be affected.

The pivot points will be structural authority and distribution of money. A fair argument is both need to be significantly changed. Debate over the exact changes needed will never find a common ground.

Before trying to predict conclusions, a framework of questions is needed. Will the NCAA fundamentally change? Will elite Power Five programs supplant much of the NCAA’s role? Will player’s concern for safety and compensation be equitably resolved?

Answering the questions also requires considering not insignificant risks. If, as some suggest, football and men’s basketball revenues will ultimately drive changes, who wins and who loses? Is just letting the ‘big dog eat’ an acceptable outcome?

There are existing realities. The NCAA will only exercise worthwhile control as long as Power Five conferences and elite programs allow it to do so. Generally, a more muscular NCAA is not what the Power Fives seek. A fair claim is the NCAA’s viability has passed.

The Power Fives are also unlikely to agree, at least not until inevitable territorial defenses and power grabs are resolved. Matt Zemak, recently compared conflicts between the SEC and Big Ten as war. He is correct there is an advantage to be gained by the SEC if it can successfully stage a fall football season. Elite recruits would look less favorably at the B1G and the Pac 12. The flip side is if the SEC tries and fails, its reputation with recruits may become diminished rather than enhanced.

Long-term a Power Five college football split from the NCAA is probably inevitable. If that result evolves, disputes between conferences will delay the process. Building a new structure to replace a currently dysfunctional structure will take time. Having a new structure in place prior to a 2021 regular season is ambitious.

Alabama football fans will agree Nick Saban would make the best Czar for CFB. Fortunately for the Alabama Crimson Tide, he is not available.