COLUMBUS — Big Ten media days open next week, which means millions of Ohioans will soon turn their attention back to the Buckeyes. What they're returning to is a sport still arguing over its own rules, regulations and a bunch of unanswered questions — one that dominates fall Saturdays but can't quite govern itself.
Since name, image and likeness pay arrived in 2021, athletic spending has taken off. Football coaching pay alone jumped more than 18% in NIL's first year, and schools have been forced to hand over a slice of revenue directly to players.
In Washington, the fix keeps stalling. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — who's called the transfer-portal churn gutting rosters "an absolute crisis" — teamed with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, on the Protect College Sports Act, which cleared the Senate Commerce Committee 19-9 and awaits a full Senate vote. An earlier House bill, the SCORE Act, died first.
Even the sport's giants can't agree. The SEC and Big Ten haven't signed on, and Commissioner Greg Sankey warns the bill could bring even more lawsuits unless it shields schools that follow the law.
So who's actually in charge? After the $2.8 billion House settlement, the NCAA handed much of its enforcement power to a new College Sports Commission and lost its grip. What's left is a tug-of-war between the courts and the conferences, with a Congress that hasn't passed a thing hovering on the sideline — and, as anyone who follows college football knows, you'd better add the agents who represent the "student-athletes."
It's a mess, and you start to wonder if there's any way to enforce anything in college football.
But hey, the Buckeyes open with Ball State on Sept. 5, then head to Texas a week later for one of the marquee games of the season. Two college powers with a combined payroll that sits north of $80 million.
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