Big Ten commish Kevin Warren cannot hide conference hypocrisy, try as he might | Opinion
INDIANAPOLIS — The day is coming when the hypocrites who run college athletics finally will have no choice but admit their hypocrisy. The thirst for power and control will become so all-consuming, there will be no way to spin financially-based change as “opportunity’’ and no way to keep a straight face when speaking of “student-athletes.”
Confronted with the reality of having created a college football system that resembles the NFL, with two conferences (the Big Ten and SEC) that might as well be the AFC and NFC, the normally Teflon conference commissioners, college presidents and athletic directors will raise their hands, palms facing out, and confess, “Greed is good. Guilty as charged.”
But until that day arrives, the shame of saying one thing while doing another will remain hidden behind motivational talking points, academic biz-speak and assurances that pursuing the best interests of college athletes are central to decision-making.
Such as: “Regarding expansion, I get asked every single day, 'What’s next?' It may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons at the right time with our student-athletes, academic and athletic empowerment at the center of any and all decisions that we will make regarding any further expansions.” – Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren
Warren, who Tuesday opened the Big Ten preseason media soiree at Lucas Oil Stadium, has come a long way since last year, when he came off looking damaged and a bit lost. This time he spoke with more force, was more confident with his comments, and during a media Q&A, generally showed the gravitas expected from the CEO of a billion-dollar enterprise.
Warren was especially adept at turning simmering negatives into glowing positives, and hiding hypocrisy behind a cloak of educational opportunity by saying that by adding UCLA and Southern California, the Big Ten expands academic and cultural possibilities for its athletes.
Never mind that athletes, especially those at UCLA and USC, will spend days removed from their campuses while flying cross country to attend sporting events two and three time zones away. Warren assured there was little reason to fret.
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“We need to become comfortable with change. We need to embrace change,” he said. Then he stressed that, amid the change, we need “to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s to make sure our student-athletes, that we continually embrace them and empower them.”
If by embracing athletes Warren meant putting the squeeze on them, then the Big Ten is doing a fine job. Of course, the conference would never own that, because to do so would admit to being hypocritical. Not gonna happen. Not yet. And so, rather than be exposed as hypocrites, Warren and the Big Ten presidents have no choice but to add more West Coast teams to the mix to ease travel issues, probably before USC and UCLA go live in 2024.
What other schools could join Big Ten with expansion?
Who is next? I’m thinking Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California, unless Notre Dame decides to join the Big Ten dance, which is unlikely unless the Fighting Irish fail to be guaranteed a spot in an expanded playoff. What sets Notre Dame apart from the rest of college football is conference independence; flying solo is the Irish’s chief identity, and they will not relinquish it easily.
As noted, Warren is open to expansion “for the right reasons.” To conference bean counters, the No. 1 right reason is money, but that creates a potential dilemma. It may be that adding West Coast teams would do more financial harm than good; dividing $1 billion among 20 schools means each school receives less than if the TV media money was split 16 ways.
The dilemma? How to remain at 16 teams and not make it look like it’s all about money instead of the academic and physical welfare of athletes crisscrossing the country?
Luckily for Warren, help is on the way. It’s called the Southeastern Conference. A possible scenario: The SEC aligns with the Big Ten for playoff purposes, with each conference expanding to as many as 24 teams that compete for a conference title, similar to the NFL. Each conference will have its own TV network – ESPN for the SEC; FOX and possibly NBC for the Big Ten, depending on what happens with Notre Dame.
In this 24-team format, the Big Ten ultimately adds Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Cal and possibly Utah, then raids the Atlantic Coast Conference for North Carolina and Georgia Tech, or whatever teams have not already joined the SEC. As for the Baylor and Iowa State’s of this world, enjoy playing in the B-league.
This is not just blind guessing, it's translating Warren’s comments, which included the opening line: “I want to spend a few moments talking about transformation, strength, power, boldness, and the Big Ten Conference.”
That sounds like someone bent on ruling the roost. Or at least not ending up as chicken feed.
“We’re in a stage probably of a five-year period of change,” Warren said before sharing a story of how as a child, he chose his birthday gifts from a Sears, Roebuck catalog.
“Those catalogs aren’t in existence anymore,” he said. “Sears and Roebuck is not in existence anymore. So I think it’s important to put very creative, aggressive, bold minds in a room together. Fortunately, I have colleagues here in the Big Ten Conference to think about these ideas. I don’t want to be Sears and Roebuck. I want to make decisions that, when we look back 30 years from now, that people will say that the Big Ten Conference was ahead of the curve in making these decisions.”
Maybe by then the conference will be more transparent about its hypocrisy.