I’m not really sure any major conference wants SMC.
With Gonzaga out of the picture, perhaps it increases the chances for SCU to make the NCAA tourney. And for Gonzaga, the move to the new conference might backfire.
Regardless of how this all falls into place, my distaste for this new era of college sports continues to grow. I am happy for the players, but as a fan I am disappointed. How can I root for a bunch of mercenaries?
Millionaire mercenarie…
I mentioned that St. Marys is looking and any conference would love to have them as They carry their own basketball legacy. The pac-12 would’ve taken them had it not been for the non-football technicality.
Don’t be shocked if the Mountain West comes knocking.
The beauty in the WCC is that this past season was a healthy balance of top 6 schools that were top 100 in the NET rankings which over a longer period of that same success could make it a multiple bid league.
The transformation of NIL and NCAA vs. the House over the sport has created a huge disruption for the WCC.
The pay for play system at the college rank need guardrails just like NBA free agency to govern healthy player movement.
Players like JT Toppin who are blue chip first rounders will stay in school because they will receive more than 46 established players if they stay in school.
# NCAA Approves Rule Change to Allow Direct Payment to Athletes Pending House Settlement
The most interesting detail is that even pre-July 1 NIL deals will have to be audited if any payment is made after July 1. So schools are handing over all of the NIL cash now. My guess is that there will be at least a couple of players who take the NIL money in June and then try to leave for a different school after the July date.
Again, there are like 5 NCAA basketball players whose name, image, and likeness is worth more than a nominal amount, so precious few NIL deals will survive scrutiny if (and it’s a big if) this all comes to pass.