Following a ‘leaked’ pitch deck and recent comments from the Chancellor, Syracuse is being proactive
In a report released by Sportico journalists Daniel Libit and Eben Novy-Williams, revealed more detailed plans to divide the top teams in college football into a seven-division Super League.
EXCLUSIVE: CFB “Super League” proposal from College Sports Tomorrow:
– Broadcast rev share with players
– 40 game spring football “festival”
– 7 Geographically aligned leagues
– 8th “Under League” with relegationFull Story from @novy_williams & @DanielLibit ➡️… pic.twitter.com/G211l8ggZn
— Sportico (@Sportico) April 16, 2024
This report comes on the back of recent coverage surrounding Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud’s involvement in these conversations around a college Super League that would directly pay players.
This new proposal would see the Syracuse Orange lose matchups such as Clemson and Florida State from their conference schedule while gaining new and exciting yearly opponents such as Notre Dame and Penn State.
It was reported by multiple outlets that Syverud was involved in pitching a proposal for a Super League to College Sports Tomorrow, which is a think tank dedicated to shaping the future of college sports for the better.
Other reports on College Sports Tomorrow dealing with similar plans have also been covered in the last few months by The Athletic, ESPN, and Sports Business Journal.
The conference would include all teams from the former Power-Five conferences, as well as Notre Dame. According to other reporting, the main goal of this Super League would be to replace the current college ‘FBS’ system with a new and more interesting version that takes inspiration from European soccer.
This new format would see a second tier under the Super League, where the best teams would be promoted up each season, but the 70 power teams would not face relegation.
Syverud explained to ESPN that this new Super League would generate more overall revenue to all teams involved due to its marketability and revenue-sharing upsides. He added that this will allow for increased pay for players and increased revenue that schools can use on other sporting projects.
Additionally, a smaller and more cohesive division from the current model would allow for the likes of Super League player unions and NIL collectives.
The pitch deck obtained by Libit and Sportico allegedly claims that the new regular season proposal would have 14 regular season games across 15 weeks. The season would then end with a 16-team playoff for the National Championship.
According to this document, the Orange would become a member of the ‘Northeast’ conference. The Orange would be joined by many of its current ACC rivals including Boston College, Virginia, Pitt, and Virginia Tech.
The two newest heavy-hitters that the Orange would have to face on a year-to-year basis would be Notre Dame and Penn State. Other Big Ten schools, Maryland and Rutgers would join the division along with West Virginia from the Big 12.
Overall, this new development seems to benefit the Orange football program in a multitude of ways. Obviously, the potential increased revenue and funding would also be of great advantage to Syracuse Athletics. It would also see the return of many of the “traditional” Northeast rivals to the Syracuse schedule.
With Coach Fran Brown’s program apparently heading in the right direction, the expanded playoff format may even give the Orange an increased chance to qualify for the playoffs, a new and unique experience for Syracuse fans.
According to Libit’s story, the proposal aims to establish this Super League for the 2027 season. The biggest obstacle to this becoming a reality is that neither the Big Ten nor SEC have engaged in the process. There isn’t a financial incentive for either of those conferences to make changes right now and without their participation, television networks won’t be in a rush to engage with further discussions at this time.
These conference shake-ups will also raise questions about how other sports will proceed. Will a basketball Super League be formed? What about for Olympic sports such as soccer, field hockey, and track?
Even though this proposal isn’t likely in the short-term, the fact that Syracuse is represented in the meetings is a sign that the University is taking steps to not be left behind.