2011 was a transformative year for sports. The big three of the four major professional sports leagues all signed new Collective Bargaining Agreements. One of them went smoothly, one went poorly, and the biggest, baddest one of all got done just in the nick of time. In 2012, the NHL appears headed to a similar brink with its players' union (again), but as of this writing those two sides appeared to be progressing in the direction of a settlement. Fans of all sports are hopeful that they may be entering a new era where long-term labor peace reigns over the teams, sports and stars they love.
But the biggest two sports stories in 2011 came from college football and both, to different degrees and in different directions, concerned power in sports -- the abuse of power in one case, and the consolidation of power in the other.
In the latter, the power football conferences finally cracked and scrambled like so many eggs at a tailgate brunch. Missouri and Texas A and M bolted the Big 12 for the SEC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse, a founding member of the Big East, both ditched that stalwart conference for the ACC. Colorado and Utah left their homes to turn the Pac-10 into the Pac-12. And other teams left lesser conferences to fill in the gaps.
These transitions, of course, were all about media rights, networks and bowl games, and how all of those factors blaze a trail to new revenue streams. Following in the lead of conference networks like the Big-10 Network, and of school specific networks such as ESPN's Longhorn Network, which supports sports at the University of Texas, conferences and individual schools sought new ways to maximize revenues. Ultimately, this would lead in 2012 to the biggest game-changer of all, the dismantling of the Bowl Championship Series after 15 years, and the commitment to a 4-team playoff from 2013-2025.
That story will ultimately be more important for business, but the shocking story of Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse revelations at Penn State, and how they dismantled a legendary coach and the storied program he led, was certainly more salacious. Ultimately, given the sanctions leveled at the University, this story too will have a shelf-life beyond its headlines, and will have a lasting impact on college sports. In this case, the NCAA found ways to extend its authority beyond its previous borders, and took a proactive stance both in making a statement about the current case (in that it was all about the abuse of power, and the de facto dictatorship that existed in that State College culture), and in making certain that all schools understand the lengths the NCAA is willing to go to make sure no other case like it can ever happen again.
The effect of these two stories combined is that at the dawn of the college football season in 2012, the sport's landscape is unlike anything we have ever seen before. When the season kicks off in full, new rivalries will be borne at the expense of historic ones. Traditional powers will have been rendered impotent. The governing body of the sport has used right to make might. And the cool flow of money will eventually rinse everything clean.
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