ACC's Swofford sees significant changes coming to NCAA

Dan Wolken | USA TODAY Sports

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said Monday the next six months are "very important" to the future of the NCAA and predicted that significant structural and governance changes could be implemented at the governing body's annual convention in January.

Among the changes up for discussion would be the formation of a so-called "super division" that would allow athletic departments with high-revenue football programs to make some of their own rules and implement things like athlete stipends. Many of those initiatives have been blocked by lower-revenue programs, which make up the majority of the NCAA.

Swofford told USA TODAY Sports the super division concept would be preferable to a breakaway from the NCAA, something Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive implied last week if power conferences didn't get more freedom to govern themselves.

"That's a potential way of making a change that would basically retain the fundamental NCAA oversight and umbrella, if you will," Swofford said. "If the five conferences were to break off, I mean, that's a complicated move. You'd have to, in essence, duplicate the NCAA in some form or fashion, and then what does that mean for intercollegiate athletics? So if you've got another division, if that's the answer within the NCAA, you can maneuver and find an appropriate way, I think, to address those kinds of issues."

Aside from the raft of external legal challenges facing the NCAA, the past few years have been characterized by just as many internal issues, including problems in enforcement and increased criticism of the governance structure. Once merely cocktail party talk, the idea that conferences could leave the NCAA and form a new association is now discussed about openly in college athletics, albeit just in theory – for now.

In addition to an internal review of the enforcement department, which has been ensnared in controversy over misconduct in the University of Miami investigation, there is a growing sense that other initiatives such as recruiting deregulation have taken place without enough input from athletic directors. The NCAA has hired a consultant to examine its governance structure, which places nearly all of its power in the hands of a Board of Directors made up of college presidents. Meanwhile, NCAA president Mark Emmert acknowledged last month the formation of an athletic directors' council to meet with him regularly and provide input.

Swofford said that although he believes in the concept of presidential control, he is encouraged by "substantive discussions" pointing to governance changes that could be enacted as soon as next year.

"I do think we've missed the boat in this new structure in terms of keeping people who really know college athletics and deal with it every day and know its nuances," he said. "The current structure just doesn't engage those people to the degree that I think they need to be engaged.

"I hope that can be addressed within the NCAA, and I hope that adjustments can be made in the legislative process in the NCAA that engages more people than the current approach does. I think that's critical to the future of the body."

Meanwhile, Swofford's comments indicate that the idea of a super division is gaining traction as schools try to figure out how to satisfy the diverse membership of the NCAA. Last week, Slive appeared frustrated at the lack of movement on a so-called "full cost of attendance" scholarship – essentially, a stipend – and said major conferences need an avenue to meet the needs of their athletes.

Emmert proposed such a stipend in 2011, only to see it meet defeat in the larger legislative body. Allowing high-revenue football programs to pass those kinds of rules without resistance from programs in the non-BCS leagues and the Football Championship Subdivision, many of which claim they can't afford those types of expenses.

"That's a struggle when you're trying to get everybody on the same page with the various legislative proposals and a future direction or change of direction," Swofford said. "We'll just have to see how all that plays out."

Asked whether the NCAA understands the landscape has to change, Swofford said: "I think that message has gotten through."

Dan Wolken, a national college football reporter for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @DanWolken.