The NCAA announced changes to its “autonomy” proposal on Friday, and it looks like the big conferences are going to get more of what they want. In order to change the rules governing the 65 biggest schools — those located within the Power 5 conferences — legislation will have to be passed in one of two ways:
How the NCAA autonomy procedure could work
The Power 5 conferences would gain even more control with this latest proposal.
- Approved by 60 percent of the 65 Power 5 schools and 15 student-athlete representatives (48 votes) and three of the Power 5 conferences
- Approved by 51 percent of the 65 Power 5 schools 15 student-athlete representatives (41 votes) and four of the Power 5 conferences
The NCAA created a handy chart to help you remember how it works:
Here’s how autonomy could work: pic.twitter.com/0pg0udsZtE
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) July 18, 2014 This is a much lower threshold than the initial proposal, which required a 2/3 majority of the schools and four of the five major conferences to approve changes. Many people — including some ex-NCAA members and school presidents — worried that nothing would get done.
The proposal will be voted on by the NCAA membership on Aug. 7. If it doesn’t pass, SEC commissioner Mike Slive has threatened that the Power 5 schools could leave the NCAA, and while that might be a scare tactic to get the vote to go his way, the Power 5 schools are frustrated with the lack of progress in the NCAA and could explore other options. Those could include leaving Division I and forming their own division altogether — for football or for all sports, the latter of which could threaten the current form of March Madness — or following through on the threat to leave the NCAA altogether.
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