It sounds like football and associated television companies (ESPN, Fox) are driving the decisions of individual institutions (e.g. USC and UCLA taking the money and running to Big10, killing the Pac12 at at critical negotiation point) and from how I understand it, basketball has been more small potatoes (perhaps because NCAA owns the tournament?)
What happens if College Football excises itself from NCAA?
I think it was stated that there would be win-win partnership with these football businesses and their affiliated colleges to work together to market the college branding. So why not go there now?
And to others who argue on importance of perception of amateur, good ole college try football: college football is already the minor leagues, especially now with one year rental players via NIL ... but it is dolled up in tradition and marketing so that I think it will continue regardless if it is housed under NCAA jurisdiction or becomes its own entity.
Part of me thinks it would be good to separate college football from the rest of college sports -- that colleges could reposition themselves to focus on these other sports and Olympic sports rather than see them as fledgling programs of little overall importance. Is that Polyanna-ish?
It just makes me sad to see these schools dropping distance running whether it be Brown or Georgia or now LMU (do they even have a football team?) I feel like it spoils it for all programs -- if NAU and BYU and OSU and NC State are the only programs left - while I am sure they would continue to be outstanding, it would seem they would lose their power and resonance and victories would carry little meaning. So many teams and athletes throughout the country put their hearts out there for conquests at Regionals, perhaps qualify at Regionals (or even win?!), celebrating those (and themselves) who make it to Nationals. And by nurturing a country wide college scene for running, the National winning team can touch us all in their accomplishments either vanquishing the team we celebrate directly by stomping them at Nationals, or indirectly by stomping our vaunted victorious adversaries.