Steering Committee's recommendations granting the P5 autonomy on governance. The Board will then seek comments from the 351 university presidents that make up D1. They have had the 82-page report since earlier this month. The Board can/will make changes once input has been received from the presidents. In August, it will have a final vote to approve the structural change of D1.
While the Board's vote today is expected, the reaction of the presidents is undetermined. In 2011, the NCAA and the participants at the convention had agreed to increase, by $2,000, the amount of money an athlete received from his/her scholarship. Despite that, enough presidents came out in opposition, that Emmert decided to abandon the proposal that he hammered out.
Many believe that it was at that moment that those that eventually became known as the P5 began formulating a strategy for self-governance - within or without the NCAA. We all know what transpired since. Such was the mistrust of the NCAA that when the P5 negotiated the tv contract for the CFP, the NCAA was not invited to participate, did not get to share in the revenue and its name was purposely omitted from the contract.
The university presidents will have from now until the end of July to comment or offer alternatives to the language of the proposed agreement before the Board has the final vote. The fact that none of the 27 remaining conferences in D1 will be required to adopt any measures passed by the P5 may satisfy many of those who voiced opposition to the stipend (it would have been mandatory for all) to agree or at least not oppose the current proposal. Even though the straw vote, taken at this year's convention, indicate that 70% did not oppose it (58% in favor and 12% not opposed), the presidents have the final say. This time, the NCAA leadership will be out campaigning for the change. One way or another, the NCAA as we have come to know will not exist after August.
The off-season isn't what it used to be.