There is no new norm for college football and basketball. The pace of change is too rapid for any norm to exist. For the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, regaining 'Big Dog' status has more to do with money than coaching.
Perhaps in this unprecedented era, it is yet to be proven that money can buy championships. But championships cannot be won without big dollars invested in players, coaches, and facilities.
Some of the most enthusiastic fans of the money-driven environment claim that it is the free-market system at work. Writing for USA Today Sports, Matt Hayes describes it as: "No price too steep, no deal too unseemly."
Hayes adds that college sports are run by the free-market system. According to Hayes, the most recent proof is the recent three-game deal in which three Duke basketball games will be aired by Amazon. The games will be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Hayes reminds that the way the ACC kept Florida State and Clemson from bolting to another conference was the unequal distribution of ACC revenues.
Another example provided by Hayes is the Darian Mensah to Miami deal that purportedly cost the Canes more than $12M, including Mensah's buyout paid to Duke.
What this means for the Alabama Crimson Tide
Hayes argues that the Duke deal is a small precursor to what will happen with the biggest college football brands. Live sports are the cash cows for broadcast television and streaming services. Hayes estimates that Ohio State football's home games could bring in close to $300M in a season. The most recent Big Ten revenue distribution to the Buckeyes was $91.5M.
Texas, Michigan, and certainly the Alabama Crimson Tide could also market their football brands for similar financial bonanzas.
Does this premise suggest that Alabama and Texas, along with Ohio State and Michigan, might have irreconcilable differences with the SEC and the Big Ten? Hayes says not. The two conferences would do what the ACC did and discontinue equal payouts.
The most recent SEC payouts averaged $72.4M. Perhaps the SEC's 'haves' would agree to around a 35% increase, with the 'have nots' taking the financial hits.
This rapidly changing, who-knows-what-comes-next environment requires sound decisions, boldly executed. Greg Byrne may have a sound business decision in extending Kalen DeBoer's contract. Byrne apparently understood that a DeBoer exit could damage the Alabama Crimson Tide brand more than losing eight games in two seasons.
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