Paul Finebaum Thinks Power Five Conferences ‘Moving Slowly’ Towards Breaking From NCAA

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum said that he thinks the Power Five conferences are slowly moving towards breaking away from the NCAA.

Finebaum discussed the issue during his daily program on ESPN Radio with University of Minnesota regent Michael Hsu.

Hsu believes that the Power Five will break away from the NCAA in the next few years. Finebaum agreed and shared his thoughts while appearing on the ESPN show “Get Up.”

Minnesota Board of Regents member Michael Hsu says he could see Power 5 conferences break away from the NCAA in the next couple years. Even if the P5 remains with the NCAA after the pandemic, "that could only be short term."

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 5, 2020

“I think we’re moving slowly, when I mean slowly, maybe a couple of years you can’t do this overnight, but I think ultimately you are going to see a break,” said Finebaum.

The radio host suggest that the pause in sports due to the coronavirus pandemic is causing people to wonder “why do we need the NCAA?”

“I think this is the moment that a lot of people are looking around saying, why do we need the NCAA? I know the basketball tournament is important. I know all these other sports are important, but the people that sit at that table, the five Power 5 commissioners plus Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame’s athletic director), plus a few other people, run college football,” Finebaum said. “The NCAA does not run college football. They lost that a long time ago and I think they’re seeing the ineptitude of the NCAA, especially of the leadership that currently exists and I think we’re moving slowly. When I mean slowly, maybe a couple of years you can’t do this overnight, but I think ultimately you are going to see a break.”

A caller asked me today if I thought there could be changes to conference-alignment, or the Power 5, after all of this eventually passes.

I think the answer is yes.

My full thoughts: pic.twitter.com/5V6v912Y0R

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) April 23, 2020

Finebaum said that a structure outside of the NCAA would be better than the leadership from college football’s current structure.

“I think they would be better because you would have the Power 5 commissioners. The people that really matter. The people that contribute the large amounts of money into football controlling it versus a number of people who they have earned their spot at the table.”

The radio host also believes that a Power Five controlled structure would be more beneficial towards college players.

“I do think because of that, they would be more lenient, they would be more amenable to player rights,” Finebaum said. “I know the NCAA decision came out last week. It’s still being disputed. We still don’t know what’s going on… I know I’m gonna sound like a broken record, we never know what’s going on.”