USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon moved to the Big Ten for more money. Texas and Oklahoma stand to make more money in the SEC. Conference realignment explodes into reality this year in college football. The 12-team College Football Playoff is a cash grab. The business of college football is bigger than ever, and schools have to make sure they’re not left behind in the race for revenue. Get ready for new efforts in college football to collect more dollars. Here’s one, via USA TODAY Sports: Sponsors putting company patches on jerseys:
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, in comments Tuesday, said none of the type of corporate activity being considered by the NCAA committee is new to college sports. “We’ve had jersey patches in bowl games,” he said. “I would anticipate there’s going to be a continuing push (for new revenues), and we’re going to have to come to some agreement in this new environment on where those limits exist.”
Whether Sankey thinks this is new or not, it’s clear that new avenues will have to be pursued. Maybe it’s not “new” in a narrow sense, but the extent to which the sport operates within certain parameters will be extended more aggressively and become more visible. Of that, there is no doubt.
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