Letter proposes making COO of college football

Leaders passim assemblage athletics are considering appointing a main operating serviceman of assemblage shot who would study to a projected FBS shot governing board, according to a lengthy missive from the LEAD1 Association obtained by ESPN.

The missive was sent this week to each Division I diversion director, members of the NCAA's Division I Transformation Committee and the NCAA's committee of directors.

The connection has been circulated astatine the highest levels of assemblage football, including the 10 FBS commissioners and College Football Playoff enforcement manager Bill Hancock, sources said.

The elaborate recommendations for the sport's aboriginal governance are the effect of months of discussions, which began bubbling this past outpouring erstwhile immoderate of the astir salient voices successful assemblage athletics, including Ohio State diversion manager Gene Smith, advocated for assemblage shot to abstracted from the NCAA entirely.

Any momentum for that shifted successful September, erstwhile an overwhelming bulk of Division I diversion directors astatine the yearly LEAD1 meetings expressed a beardown penchant to support FBS shot nether the NCAA if tin beryllium much streamlined and little bureaucratic.

Following the beardown statement successful its autumn meeting, LEAD1, which represents the 131 diversion directors successful the FBS, established a moving radical comprised of representatives from each 10 FBS conferences.

According to the group's proposal, the FBS shot governing committee would chiefly beryllium comprised of radical with important shot knowledge, and appointed by their conferences. There would besides beryllium a typical from the American Football Coaches Association, on with 4 autarkic directors, including astatine slightest 2 erstwhile student-athletes -- a operation of unbiased radical and those who person a players' perspective, which the Knight Commission has separately been pushing for.

The FBS shot governing committee would "decide each matters related to FBS football" but for rules related to academics, fiscal assistance and wellness and safety. While the committee would oversee things similar officiating, rules and perchance scheduling, galore hold determination are issues that should stay astatine the level of assemblage presidents, and the NCAA would stay a ineligible shield.

The liability issues are astatine the crux of wherefore astir diversion leaders privation assemblage shot to stay nether the NCAA. The NCAA presently has a shot oversight committee, but six of the 18 members correspond the FCS, and galore diversion directors lament they person antithetic challenges that should beryllium dealt with separately.

The COO would beryllium a akin presumption to that of Dan Gavitt, who is the NCAA elder vice president of basketball. FBS shot is presently the lone collegiate athletics that is governed by the NCAA but runs its ain nationalist championship, done the CFP. The NCAA deals with issues specified arsenic rules, officiating, concussion litigation and enforcement, but doesn't person a idiosyncratic similar Gavitt astatine the array erstwhile important decisions astir the athletics are made. This projected presumption would besides beryllium connected the NCAA president's enactment team/cabinet.

While LEAD1 doesn't person the authorization to instrumentality immoderate of the recommendations, it's different measurement toward changing however the athletics of assemblage shot is governed arsenic the NCAA undergoes sweeping changes to its ain organization, and much powerfulness shifts to the idiosyncratic conferences. The connection besides pushes for NFL to supply fiscal support, arguing "the NFL reaps the benefits of FBS shot serving arsenic its workplace strategy without providing immoderate fiscal enactment (and different resources) to the NCAA."

It's apt to instrumentality weeks to stitchery feedback, and the connection would yet person to beryllium approved by the Division I committee of directors. While determination could beryllium immoderate pushback to the plan, determination could besides beryllium immoderate who privation to hold until the NCAA names a president to regenerate Mark Emmert earlier making specified drastic changes to the sport's structure. It's besides unclear who needs to ballot to officially o.k. it, arsenic determination are differing ineligible opinions, according to sources.

According to the letter, "Failing implementation of these recommendations, our FBS ADs are successful favour of examining options for specified decision-making extracurricular of the NCAA."