Open For Business: a Big 12 Podcast w/ John Kurtz

Cody Campbell Has the SEC & Big Ten Shook; Big 12 Invited to the White House

John Kurtz

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0:00 | 52:27

Cody Campbell has the SEC and Big Ten worried, and now we have proof.

In this video, I break down the backlash to Campbell’s Saving College Sports initiative after the SEC and Big Ten commissioned a white paper from FTI Consulting to counter his ideas. Campbell’s proposal includes major changes to college athletics, including a new voluntary governing organization with enforcement power, a single national NIL standard, spending and cost controls, and changes to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that would allow schools to pool college football media rights and sell them together.

I explain what Campbell is pushing, why SEC and Big Ten leaders are fighting it, and why the arguments in the commissioned paper are misleading—especially when it comes to the history of TV rights, the College Football Association model from the 1980s, and how the modern streaming landscape (Amazon, Netflix, and more) could change the value of packaged college football inventory. We also get into the central issue behind this battle: whether the current fragmented system is protecting SEC and Big Ten revenue at the expense of everyone else, including the future of Olympic sports and women’s sports at smaller schools.

Topics covered:

Cody Campbell and Saving College Sports explained

Why the SEC and Big Ten are responding with a commissioned white paper

FTI Consulting’s arguments against pooling media rights

Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 and proposed changes in Congress

Supreme Court TV rights ruling and the College Football Association example

NIL reform, national standards, and enforcement debates

Why this fight could end up in Washington and at the White House

What this means for the Big 12 and the future of college football

Do you think Campbell’s plan would help college sports, or is it federal overreach? Should the SEC and Big Ten keep control of the current system? Drop your take in the comments.

Keywords: Cody Campbell, Saving College Sports, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, college football media rights, Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, NIL reform, national NIL standard, college sports commission, FTI Consulting, college football playoff power, NCAA governance, conference realignment, Olympic sports funding, women’s sports funding, Trump roundtable college sports