Skip to content

Pac-12 commish Kliavkoff believes NCAA shouldn't govern college football

Icon Sportswire / Getty

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff believes Division I conferences don't need help from the NCAA to run college football.

"We have to be realistic about the fact that football is a unique animal among the rest of the college sports and that there are conferences that should be more aligned and should be more in control of the future of high-level college football," Kliavkoff told The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach on Friday.

Kliavkoff shared he has been in contact with other FBS commissioners who agree the conference should oversee the sport.

"I've been surprised by the unanimous support for the idea among the folks that I've spoken to about taking football rule-making and football rule enforcement out of the NCAA and investing it in an organization that is run by the 10 (FBS) conferences."

Kliavkoff notes the 32 conferences that make up Division I would be too big to govern the sport, while a group of the Power 5 would be too small. He also understands that any new grouping would require an enforcement arm.

"Coming up with a common set of rules that make sense for everybody was difficult before (the) Alston (Supreme Court ruling), and after Alston coming up with rules and particularly enforcing those roles, has proven to be nearly impossible," he said.

Additionally, Kliavkoff said everything related to college football apart from media rights during the regular season should be handled by one organziation - who would also handle setting and enforcing rules and running the postseason.

College sports is currently in a transition period as NCAA reassesses its role and focus amidst the new NIL legislation. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is among commissioners who have expressed a belief that FBS conferences should explore an alternative model for the sport. Phillips believes that the time to reorganize collegiate sports should take place now while the NCAA reorganizes its structure.

Klivakoff expects his fellow commissioners to discuss the topic when they hold the commissioners meeting next week.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox