With potential split from CSC on the table, college sports leaders struggling to find solutions to money problems — 'The Big Ten and SEC should break away and do their own deal'

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — On the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean, some 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, administrators and coaches from college football’s new king — the Big Ten — gather at a Mediterranean style resort for their annual spring meetings during the most transformational time in college athletics history. As the NCAA’s seven-year congressional lobbying effort reaches its climax — a vote on legislation is scheduled for this week in the House with momentum building for a bipartisan bill in the Senate, too — college sports is on the brink of more revolutionary decisions.

At the center of it all is the landmark, multi-billion dollar legal settlement of three antitrust cases (House) that, while moving the enterprise into the age of direct athlete compensation, has failed to deliver the stability that many leaders sought — and now it poses a risk to roster stability. The new enforcement entity’s scrutiny of third-party NIL deals from the biggest above-the-cap spenders — many of them here (Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Michigan, etc. ) — threatens to cripple the league’s wealthy behemoths by putting at risk tens of millions of dollars they guaranteed to their players.

“Everyone is frustrated,” said one league executive here. In this era of athlete compensation, the Big Ten has turned back the clock. The league is thriving.

Among the four power conferences, the Big Ten boasts the biggest alumni and donor bases, largest enrollments, richest endowments and the most populated urban areas across 14 states and three time zones. The conference claimed in January a third consecutive football national championship for the first time in 73 years (Michigan-Ohio State-Indiana), won the men’s and women’s basketball titles months later (Michigan-UCLA), and currently has the No. 1-ranked college baseball team (UCLA).