At the SEC Spring meeting, self-governance is a serious subject. Georgia President Jere Morehead and Bulldogs' coach Kirby Smart have voiced support for the SEC assuming independent rule-making and enforcement.
On Tuesday, Smart said, "I’ve been a huge advocate that we can’t find rules that everybody played by, then we should play by our own. I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and have and play — I mean, like, if we could actually function and it financially would make our programs more stable, and we could support things financially."
'Breaking away' from the NCAA might also mean the SEC having a post-season playoff that includes only SEC teams. That idea could include an SEC challenge for the league's playoff winner to play the CFB Playoff winner. Or, with the Big Ten also having self-governance momentum, the winner of an SEC playoff and the winner of a Big Ten playoff could play in a national championship game.
As intriguing as the ideas are, there is potentially a major risk for the SEC's national title contenders. No conference needs a college football national championship as much as the Big 12. What if a Big 12 team, unfettered by constraints, goes undefeated, winning by large margins, followed by a CFB Playoff Championship Game victory? That team could boast that it is the real National Champion and claim that a SEC vs. Big Ten winner was not its equal.
Admittedly, this conjecture is filled with 'what ifs' and the volatile environment of college sports offers no predictable results. A late attempt at federal government solutions might solve some issues. But according to sports law expert Mat Winter, it is unlikely the SEC and the Big Ten will slow their self-governance momentum for new legislation that could take months to come to fruition.
According to Winter, some support is evolving for schools to consider players as employees and collective bargaining.
What is best for the Alabama Crimson Tide?
No matter how athletic competition would change under new structures, the more important issue for school presidents and chancellors is money. In the huge business of college football and the big business of college basketball, decisions will be based on financial merits.
For Alabama Crimson Tide sports, a new rules structure with actual enforcement and serious consequences for rule-breakers would be beneficial. Still, optimism is hard to come by.
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