Yell & Review with Ross Bjork

Athletics Director Ross Bjork took questions from the 12th Man this week during his monthly "Yell & Review" session. You can watch the event below.

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Yell & Review Notebook

• Are super conferences the future of college sports?  Bjork was asked, and does believe, there will be pressure on non-SEC and Big Ten schools to join those leagues. "However, it's not that easy to say we want to be a 24-team league. I think the SEC can be in a very strategic position. To me? You don't add just to add. It has to be strategic." Adding to the complication, Bjork added, are existing TV contracts, grant of rights, and so forth. But he says there's one big question that no one seems to be able to answer yet when it comes to the concept of a super conference.  What does that accomplish? What does that mean, what does that come with, and why do we want to do that? Is it rule making? Revenue? College Football Playoff? Recruiting rules? Name, Image, Likeness? Student-athlete scholarship structure? No one can answer that." Bjork is not sure that he sees super conferences coming soon, but he was quick to mention that the SEC and Big Ten have obviously separated themselves from a TV and a revenue standpoint. He also pointed out that the SEC is obviously dominating the CFP. "I don't know that I see one domino, or two, yet to get us to a super conference. I think we need to get through some other TV negotiations (in other leagues), through the NCAA transformation committee, and then see what happens with NIL legislation (state by state, or federal, approach). I and I know a lot of my colleagues as well want to see how those things play out first...(one thing to remember is) It is a college/university environment. That has to remain the most important thing. And then, yeah, do we need to do better? Can we restructure? Can we do some things that modernize college athletics? Of course we can."
• In a future SEC football scheduling model, would Mississippi State one of our three permanent rivals? Bjork says the first thing that Athletic Directors have to decide is if the proposed model will be an 8-game (with one permanent opponent and seven rotating) or a 9-game (three permanent, six rotating) version. Once decided, they will then take that recommendation to the presidents and chancellors who will ultimately make the final decision. "If we go to a 3/6 model, (the league has) shown us what our opponents could be: Texas, LSU, Mississippi State. That is one option. it's not done, it's not final, things could be fluid." Bjork says a 3/6 model allows schools to protect primary and some secondary rivalries and also allows every school to play every other school--both home and away--over a four-year period. "When you get down to it, who you play as your three permanent opponents really doesn't matter as much because you're rotating the other six more often."