Former Ohio State, WVU president calls for media rights centralization in college football

Former Ohio State and West Virginia President Gordon Gee is proposing significant changes to the business model of college athletics. In an op-ed for The Hill, Gee advocates for unifying media rights for college football and adopting a centralized scheduling system. Gee argues that college football, despite being a major viewer draw, lags behind other sports in revenue due to its fragmented media rights system, which sells conference-by-conference. He suggests that consolidating media rights, similar to professional sports leagues, could enhance revenue potential.

Gee's plan aligns with recent discussions in Congress about granting college football the same antitrust protections that professional leagues enjoy, allowing for collective media rights sales. He also proposes a strategic scheduling approach to improve viewership by spreading marquee matchups across the season, rather than having them clash or occur during less competitive weeks.

Gee believes these changes are crucial for sustaining non-revenue college sports, which rely heavily on football and basketball media revenue. Since last year, over 40 Division I sports programs have been