Imperialist Talk from the Big XII . . .

[Cane from the Bend]

In a headline-making 45-minute press conference at Big 12 football media days in Dallas, Texas on Monday, conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby talked about a variety of issues, including compensating student-athletes, player safety issues, conference realignment and even how the NCAA is structured.

He also said he was in favor of the different sports in the NCAA being governed in a "federation" style.

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Bob Bowlsby: "I really think the time has come to think about federation by size and scope and equity brought to the system. There are about 75 schools that win 90 percent of the championships in the NCAA, and we have a whole bunch of others that don't look much like the people in our league, but yet through rule variation they're trying to compete with us." --- "It's probably unrealistic to think that we can manage football and field hockey by the same set of rules. I think some kind of reconfiguration of how we govern is in order."

The commissioner also addressed the pressing issue of player safety in college football. He talked about the concussion issue, which has garnered more attention with former players suing the NCAA over its handling of the injury, per a report report by the Associated Press.

Bob Bowlsby: "Head injuries are obviously a real challenge. We need to have prevention reflected in the rules. This is certainly not an attempt to, as some hosts said, sissify college football. We need to have the rules reflect the right way to play the game, and we need to make sure that it's a game you can play safely and not compromise the rest of your life in the process of excellence,"

Bowlsby is in favor of the recent rule changes that involve player safety, including the automatic ejection of a player for targeting.

In addition to talking about player safety and how the NCAA is governed, Bowlsby also addressed the growing issue of paying student-athletes. He supports the idea of somehow getting student-athletes more support.

"I happen to think that there's a good case to be made for some form of additional support for student‑athletes. Personally, I favor some sort of need basis above basic education expenses, but others who agree that there ought to be some distribution disagree on how it ought to be established."

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A federated NCAA, based upon "what do you offer me" is shades of separatism at the collegiate level.

Personally, if they're going to do it (and it seems as though that is what they are planning); Then I wish they'd just go ahead and simply do it.

All of this posturing, positioning and propagating is no longer fooling anyone . . . it is only 'prolonging' the obvious inevitability of it all.

This, "We have to ease people into it, by introducing it slowly" is not serving to benefit anyone. The common viewer is no longer fooled by the supposed candor.

These Collegiate Moguls are wearing the truth on their sleeves, all while attempting to hide it under their tongues.

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[Eric]

It'll be interesting to see where they go with this. From the sounds of it, all of the big-time commissioners seem to be repeating the same thing while the small-time commissioners seem to keep saying they want a piece of the pie.

[billybud]

Yep, Billybud here has been preparing their talking points for the past five years....

[Eric]

Yep, Billybud here has been preparing their talking points for the past five years....

So that's where they get all of these ideas

[donovan]

Yep, Billybud here has been preparing their talking points for the past five years....

So that's where they get all of these ideas

"Imperialism, as defined by the Dictionary of Human Geography, is "an unequal human and territorial relationship, usually in the form of an empire, based on ideas of superiority and practices of dominance" Yep...pretty sure that is whence it comes.