the BigAmateurism monologues

Wow. It feels like 20 years ago that college sports stakeholders were talking about a unanimous US Supreme Court decision that required the NCAA and Power 5 conferences to play by the same free competition laws as the rest of America. News cycles move so quickly that even “big” stories come and go in a matter of days. Synthesizing and ranking a year’s worth of consequential events is a daunting task, particularly when the most skillful propagandists in America manipulate in real time how the public should view those events. In this episode, I offer my top ten stories of 2022, with a couple of honorable mention items thrown in for good measure. Enjoy! 10. Power 5/SEC takeover of NCAA governance (Episodes 95, 96, 97). 9. NCAA’s interpretation and use of Alston in the Johnson suit (Episode 123). 8. Death of NCAA credibility in infractions and enforcement (Episodes 104, 118, 134). 7. Higher Education officially surrenders to Big Entertainment (Episode 125). 6. Death of revenue-sharing for athletes in P5 football and basketball (Episodes 113, 120). 5. Structural changes to P5 football (Episodes 126, 132). 4. Midterm elections (Episodes 137, 139). 3. NCAA cracks the dam on college sports gambling (Episodes 106, 112, 138). 2. The EXPLOSION in college sports revenues and revenue streams. 1. The games go on! The games go on!