Dabo Swinney to ESPN on NCAA structure: "I'd blow it all up"

Dabo Swinney would blow up the current NCAA structure and put football on its own tier.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Mon Feb 20 10:34:38 GMT-04:00 2023

If given the chance, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney would blow up the NCAA governance structure.

That's what he told ESPN's Greg McElroy in a podcast recently.

Swinney explained the current structure and what changes he'd like to see.

"I'd blow it all up. It's not relevant anymore," Swinney said. "And honestly, it never really was great. But we're at a point where it's just dysfunctional. Nobody would operate a business -- no one -- the way we operate in college football. And so, I would change the entire governance structure. Right now, you have two things: you have what's called the football oversight committee and you have this NCAA council. And the oversight committee, for example, in the world of Power 65 (Power 5 leagues) is different. We have this 131 Division I teams and it's just not the same for Alabama as it is non-Power 5 U.

"You have 100,000-seat stadiums versus 35,000-seat stadiums. There's a lot that comes with that. So everybody has a different world that that they operate it. And then it's not just Division I (FBS), it's (FCS) which falls under that umbrella so you have an oversight committee, where I think we have like three votes, for the Power 65, and there's like 18 people so you really don't have a voice, and so again, what's every simple in our world and things that we could fix -- it's just this bureaucratic process and you're gonna lose every time or it's going to take two years or it's going to take something bad happening to create change. So that's one.

"Then you have the NCAA council and that's like a whole nother deal, so now it's not just the football stuff, it's gotta be the same for football and soccer and tennis and that's not realistic. The intention is good, but the execution of it is not."

Swinney says the answer is to separate football from other NCAA-sponsored sports in the decision process.

"I would create some situation where you have some type of situation where you have a commissioner and maybe a board and things could be streamlined and things could be efficient," Swinney said. "I think there's still a need for the NCAA and some type of tether to that, but you take all the other sports and they have their own governance structure and it's just different, because it is. For a long time, no one wanted to admit that, but as I said earlier, maybe for the first time in my career -- I think all the key decision-makers, whether they'll admit it or not, presidents, faculty reps, commissioners, ADs -- I think they all agree with that, most, they may not publicly agree with that but I think they all realize we're in a situation where we really need -- and just like when COVID hit. That was really like a positive, all of a sudden we really needed football and I was on a committee meeting every week for a year and it was really cool to have a voice.

"I think that's ultimately where we need to go. Just blow the governance structure up and do away with it and let's get serious and focused about, OK, here's the schools that can operate, whether it's a new league, a new division, whatever it is, I think most football people know that's where it's going. I would say, quit wasting time. We all know what's going to happen in two years or three years or five years, so why don't we go ahead and get there and get on with it."

Swinney said that he would call for a smaller top division in college football, even below the 65-team number of the current power conference setup.

He also lamented the college decision-makers not listening to feedback from players on expanding the playoff.

"(I) wanted the feedback and I met with my team and I'll never forget it...They all looked at me like I was crazy," Swinney said of his conversation of a proposed playoff expansion at the time. "Like I had three eyeballs. We got to start in July and we got to finish later in January, and oh we just beat Alabama and we gotta go play Georgia next week? You know, you beat Ohio State, Alabama and now you have to go play Georgia? These are guys who have pro aspirations, and until you've been through a season of 15 games at this level, it's hard to have that perspective, so the interesting thing about the dynamic to me when all that was coming about...I gave the feedback but nobody listens.

"We listen to the player on all these things, but when it comes to -- they don't want to start earlier in July. They don't want to go later in January. Oh, finals? Who cares? It just falls on deaf ears, and I'm like, OK, we can't just keep expanding college football. And now where we are, you're going to have to play 17 games. That's a lot for a college player."

Swinney believes the wrong people are making decisions currently, but he's optimistic about the game's future.

"My biggest frustration with this game, honestly, is we're probably the only profession that I know of that the experts in the profession really have no say," he said. "And because there is bad, and again, there's good coaches -- there's bad coaches. There's good bankers -- there's bad bankers. There's good teachers -- there's bad teachers. There's good preachers -- there's bad preachers. There's good politicians -- there's bad politicians. There's good and bad in everything. We know that. But our profession, football people could fix football problems like (snaps fingers) that. But we really don't have the opportunity to do that. And it's one of the most unique things...There's a lot of football problems that football people don't really have say. They've lived it and have the perspective, and so, it's unique that way and that's what's led to a lot of craziness in our world.

"Having said that, I do feel like for the first time since I've been head coach and maybe in a long time, I do feel like we are heading -- even though it's crazy right now -- I think we're heading into a better place where we are going to have a new governance structure, where we can have a voice, where we can have an issue at 9 a.m. and by 3 we fixed it. I think that that day is coming for college football. But man, it's never been better when it comes to opportunities for young people and the lessons that this game provides."