Remember all that nonsense I wrote recently about SportsChump being a website by the people and for the people?
Well, it’s true!
Who amongst you currently reading hasn’t commented, contributed, subscribed (hit that floating little button), brainstormed, texted, laughed, cried, been written about or shared a memory?
Well, we have another regular about to share his opinion, first time contributor, long time reader. He’s been a friend of mine for over 30 years and has been the runner up mayor of Waldo, Florida for nearly as long.
I hereby present Mr. Bryson’s perhaps controversial opinions on the separation, not of church and state, but of college and sports.
Is It Time to Divorce Sports from Universities?
America is unique in its fusion of high-level athletics and higher education. Nowhere else in the world do universities serve as the developmental leagues for professional sports. For generations this model has provided joy, entertainment, identity, opportunity, and financial benefits to institutions, athletes, and fans alike. But with the advent of the transfer portal and the rise of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, the relationship between universities and big-time sports has reached a tipping point. It’s time to seriously ask: should universities and major athletics go their separate ways?
The Mission Drift
Universities exist to educate, innovate, and serve society through research and scholarship. But increasingly, especially with revenue-generating sports like football and basketball, the demands of athletics compete with — and in many cases, override — that mission. Academic schedules are bent around training and competition. Resources are stretched. Scandals and compliance headaches distract leadership. The priorities of education and athletics are no longer aligned, and the resulting chaos threatens the integrity of both.
A Bold Solution: Privatization
What if, rather than eliminating college sports, we reimagined them? What if football and basketball programs were spun off as professional entities — still carrying the names and traditions of their universities but operating independently? Universities could lease or sell access to their branding and facilities, generating substantial revenue to reinvest in academics, research, and student services. According to the Wall Street Journal, top-tier college basketball programs are worth over $370 million. Football programs would command even higher valuations. Imagine that value redirected toward scholarships, labs, classrooms, and underfunded academic departments. Privatization would also relieve schools of the escalating costs of athletics arms races. The University of North Carolina, for example, is planning a $500 million basketball complex. That cost — and others like it — could be offloaded to private ownership.
Ending the Farce: Let Athletes Be Professionals
For decades, universities and the NCAA maintained a fiction of amateurism — athletes as “students first” — while treating them as high-performance labor. That illusion has finally collapsed under legal pressure and the rise of NIL. In a privatized model, athletes would be treated as what they truly are: professionals. They’d be salaried employees with contracts, benefits, and the right to collective bargaining. They could choose to pursue education on their own terms, just like any other adult — free from the pretense of mandatory enrollment. The governing chaos of the NCAA would no longer be necessary. Each league or team could establish its own rules and structure, in line with labor laws and antitrust principles. What remains of the NCAA could continue to oversee tournaments and non-revenue sports.
But What About the Fans?
The beauty of this model is that it preserves what fans care about most. The Tar Heels. The Bruins. The Gators. The rivalries. The March Madness brackets. The bowl games. The Saturday tailgates. All of that can stay. Ownership structures can vary — some teams might be backed by booster collectives, others by private investment groups — but the names, colors, mascots, and histories would remain intact. Conferences could continue as leagues. Fans would still cheer for the same teams, in the same stadiums, with the same passion.
A Better Deal for All
Some worry this system would shut out athletes who aren’t destined for the pros. But the current system doesn’t guarantee degrees or long-term benefits either. In a privatized system, athletes could earn real compensation and use those earnings to pursue education if and when they choose — without being tied to rigid NCAA eligibility rules. Non-revenue sports could continue under a modified version of the current model, funded by licensing revenues from privatized teams. Athletes in those sports would also be free to capitalize on NIL opportunities, just like any student. Most importantly, universities would be freed from the burden of navigating the increasingly fraught terrain of big-money sports. University presidents could focus on education, not crisis management. Faculty could teach and research without interference. Boards of Trustees would have less incentive to meddle in athletic affairs.
Time for Leadership
What’s most troubling right now is the silence from university leadership. As college athletics veer toward full-on professionalization, presidents and faculty remain sidelined, while boosters and trustees dominate the conversation. This imbalance breeds administrative instability and undermines the academic mission. Privatization offers a way out — a strategy to preserve what works, eliminate what doesn’t, and refocus universities on what they do best. A national commission of university leaders, athletes, students, legal experts, and economists could study the path forward. But time is short. The current chaos could very well destroy the college sports tradition we all cherish.
Let’s not wait for collapse to force our hand. It’s time to start imagining — and building — a new system.
Bill Bryson
I’ve given a lot of thought to this, Billy B.
In some respects, we’ve already seen major schools going this route, i.e., UF and the UAA.
There’s so much $$$ involved in college athletics, specifically football, that it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw an eventual move towards more privatization.
There’s also so much old school money entrenched in keeping things the way they are that it also wouldn’t surprise me if things remained the same.
Bottom line is, I suppose, show them how they’ll be able to turn more of a profit and we might see more of this happen across the board.