Jim Harbaugh has big warning about the state of college football
Aug 31, 2019; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh before the game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh opened his press conference Monday with a blunt warning about the future of college football.
Harbaugh said college athletics are unlikely to survive in their current format and added that the “status quo is unacceptable” with regard to a lack of revenue sharing between schools and players. The Michigan coach criticized the NCAA and stakeholders for a lack of movement on such financial issues.
Jim Harbaugh is opening his ECU week press conference with a statement on “the state of college football.”
The big one: He wants a system of revenue sharing with athletes.
“I don’t understand how the NCAA, TV networks, conferences and schools can continue to pull in millions…
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) August 28, 2023
“I don’t understand how the NCAA, TV networks, conferences and schools can continue to pull in millions off the efforts of college students across the country without sharing ever-increasing revenue,” Harbaugh said, via Alejandro Zuniga of The Michigan Insider. “Who do we all go to watch? Who do we all go to see? … They need to share in the profits.”
Harbaugh has long championed the idea of large-scale revenue sharing with players, as conferences make most of the money across the sport. His warnings are only getting more urgent as the situation continues to linger. The TV revenue matters have contributed to the major upheaval this offseason in terms of conference reshuffling.
Harbaugh is in hot water with the NCAA, so they probably won’t be heeding his suggestions. He has been issuing these warnings for some time, though, so he can’t say he hasn’t tried to push the cause.