For many years, the NCAA and leagues within the NCAA debated whether or not to allow power conferences to break away from Division 1 to form a Division 4 conference. The importance of a Division 4 is to allow teams to better care for a player, by being allowed to use attendance revenue to treat athletes health and well being. The only way the SEC would consider to move, is if the NCAA won’t allow the power conferences to follow their own “bylaws.” This division change would apply to all sports, not just football. The protection of the student athletes should be the first priority by universities, but they can’t be protected if money is not available to smaller schools.
The SEC is the first division to consider the possibility of switching divisions because TV and attendance sales would be used to compensate athletes if they were to get injured in a game or practice.
“It’s not something we want to do,” Slive said on the final day of the SEC meetings. “We want to the ability to have autonomy in areas that has a nexus to the well-being of student athletes. I am somewhat optimistic it will pass, but if it doesn’t, our league would certainly want to move to a Division IV. My colleagues, I can’t speak for anybody else, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t feel the same way.” (Slive 1)
Many officials have stated, that a possible move wouldn’t change championship formats, although, some adjustments must take place to make sure playoff systems aren’t lob sided. Take a minute and look at the BCS system that was recently changed in NCAA football. Teams switched divisions, teams got better, and many teams that didn’t deserve opportunities to get into a BCS Bowl game got in. Teams with over .500 records got left out of the conversation and under .500 teams made it in. Although this scenario doesn’t quite compare to Division IV, but if a change would occur, there should be an equal balance of teams that switch so each team has an equal chance of getting into the playoffs.
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