Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko has joined the growing chorus of voices advocating for a college football commissioner. In a recent interview on an On3 podcast with J.D. Pickell, Elko emphasized the need for a centralized leadership to guide the future of the sport.
“Put somebody in charge,” Elko stated, highlighting the absence of a unified voice to make decisions that would benefit college football as a whole. He expressed concern that without effective leadership, the integrity and longevity of the sport could be jeopardized.
The landscape of college sports, particularly football, has undergone significant changes recently. These include the House Settlement, which required schools to allocate revenue directly to athletes, the ability for players to profit from their name, image, and likeness, and relaxed transfer rules that allow for increased player movement. Many of these shifts have been imposed by Congress or have emerged from pressures faced by the NCAA.
Elko argued that a commissioner should represent the interests of all programs, rather than focusing solely on individual conferences. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban has voiced similar concerns, stating that the current environment is approaching a state of anarchy without clear guidelines. “If you really don”t support that, you are kinda supporting a little bit of an anarchy which is what we have now,” Saban commented.
Saban has proposed the idea of having two commissioners: one to oversee the conferences and another to manage a competition committee responsible for establishing the rules governing the game. This suggestion aligns with the views expressed by Cedric Golden, a columnist for the American-Statesman, who previously identified Saban as a potential candidate for this leadership role.
Golden criticized the inaction of current sports leadership, labeling it as “inexcusable.” He noted that while players have always been compensated, the public nature of salary demands and bidding wars has created a pressing need for a leader to stabilize the situation. “It will take someone like him to get things back under control,” Golden remarked.
James Franklin, another head coach with a College Football Playoff background, has also emphasized the necessity of a commissioner who possesses both coaching and media experience to help shape the future of the sport. He pointed out the conflicting opinions among coaches from different conferences, which complicates efforts to prioritize what”s best for college football.
Former Texas coach Mack Brown has also been suggested as a viable candidate for the commissioner role, as voiced by Golden. However, there have been no formal discussions by the NCAA about implementing a commissioner or the structure that this position would entail. Elko concluded his remarks with a straightforward sentiment, saying, “Most people believe that someone should be in charge of things,” reflecting a shared desire for established leadership in college football.
