According to a letter from the LEAD1 Association, college athletics leaders are considering appointing a college football COO who would report to the football governing board.
The NCAA's board of directors, the NCAA's Division I Transformation Committee and the Division I athletic directors received the letter this week.
Sources said that the proposal has been brought up at the highest levels of college football.
The detailed recommendations for the sport's future governance are the result of months of discussions, which began bubbling this past spring when some of the most prominent voices in college athletics, including Gene Smith, advocated for college football to separate from the NCAA entirely.
In September, an overwhelming majority of Division I athletic directors at the annual LEAD1 meetings expressed a strong preference to keep football in the NCAA.
The strong consensus of the fall meeting led to the creation of a working group consisting of representatives from all 10 conferences.
The group's proposal states that the football governing board would be made up of people with a lot of football knowledge. There would be a representative from the American Football Coaches Association, along with four independent directors, including two former student-athletes, which the Knight Commission has been pushing for.
Rules related to academics, financial aid and health and safety are the only ones that would be decided by the board. There are issues that should remain at the level of university presidents, and the NCAA would remain a legal shield.
Athletic leaders want college football to stay under the NCAA because of liability issues. Six of the 18 members of the NCAA's football oversight committee are from the lowest rungs of college sports, and many athletic directors think they should be dealt with differently.
Dan Gavitt is the senior vice president of basketball at the NCAA. The only collegiate sport that is governed by the NCAA but has its own national championship is football. When significant decisions about the sport are made, the NCAA does not have a person like Gavitt at the table. The NCAA president has a leadership team and cabinet.
LEAD1 doesn't have the authority to implement any of the recommendations, but it's another step towards changing how the sport of college football is governed as the NCAA undergoes sweeping changes to its own organization. The proposal argues that the benefits of football serve as the NFL's farm system without providing any financial support to the NCAA.
The proposal would have to be approved by the Division I board of directors in order for it to become a reality. There could be some people who don't like the plan and want to wait until the NCAA names a new president to make the changes. It's unclear who needs to approve it, as there are differing legal opinions, according to sources.
The letter states that the ADs are in favor of looking at options outside of the NCAA if the recommendations are not implemented.
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