MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher derides "ungovernable" Power Four conferences in speech

League and school officials from the Mid-American Conference met on Thursday, May 28th, to distribute end-of-year awards for student-athletes and institutions, as well as to induct the latest members of the MAC Hall of Fame.

At some point in the proceedings, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher gave a "State of the Conference" address– the entirety of which can be seen here– and one section caught the eye of national reporters, including Thomas Goldkamp of On3 Sports.

After addressing some internal business, Steinbrecher took the opportunity to make comments about the ongoing situation with the NCAA at-large, calling out Power Four commissioners (which he refers to as Autonomy conferences) for a lack of stewardship, saying specifically he was "tired" of listening to Power Four members complaining about various rules and was "[n]ot sure if the right response... is be careful for what you ask for... or karma's a bitch."

The full quote can be read below:

Like you, I've been observing the continuing evolution of the intercollegiate athletics landscape over the past few years. In particular, the persistent and consistent power grab by the autonomy conferences. You know, I am tired of listening to the complaints of the autonomy conferences who believe they know the best way to run the organization. I'm not sure if the right response to all of this is 'be careful for what you ask for because you may get it' or 'karma's a bitch.' Because we're now living with what happens when the autonomy conferences make the rules. The confusion and angst and uncertainty and, quite frankly, the ignoring of rules– which is a polite way of saying 'cheating'– has never been greater.

We're not even one year into the implementation of the House settlement, a settlement negotiated by the autonomy conferences with virtually no input from anyone else, and already those very same institutions are ignoring the rules and the framework established to enforce those rules. Because of these behaviors, the upper end of the food chain is in an even more financially unsustainable position than the rest of us. As you know, a cap was negotiated that established the ceiling for additional benefits or revenue sharing. Again, not even one year in, And there are voices calling for the elimination of the cap. And many are trying to circumvent the College Sports Commission from evaluating the legitimacy and value of the third-party NIL deals.

If you look up the term ungovernable, I am convinced a handful of conference logos pop up. And they're all autonomy logos. Almost everything I read about is the race to generate more revenue, because the system is financially unsustainable. Yet the actions of one end of this food chain tear down the rules that are intended to help bring some level of certainty and control to the expenses, and in fact, endorse efforts to dismantle guardrails that make the costs even greater.

The comments all come at a time of great debate in intercollegiate athletics, as discussions around the Protect College Sports Act and the potential of an SEC breakaway league have made the rounds this offseason.

The MAC is not unaffected by the actions of Power conferences, as NIU's departure for the Mountain West and Horizon League was, in part, due to the changing costs of athletics at the college level. Affiliate member Sacramento State was also added for similar reasons.

Changes to "Autonomous conference" schedules (such as proposals for 10 league games and mandatory minimums against fellow Autonomous conferences) and the College Football Playoff structure also threaten the conference's standing.

Steinbrecher also took issue with the trend of schools using the litigation system to undermine NCAA bylaws, such as those regarding NIL agreements, and referred specifically to a lawsuit filed (and eventually settled) by a state attorney general seeking an injunction on college basketball transfer rules, suggesting the same attorney general was "an eyelash" away from filing a lawsuit to stop the NCAA Tournament from running until the state's flagship team was added in.

"[M]aybe I'm the wrong one here," Steinbrecher quipped. "Because this year, for instance, maybe I should have marched into an Indiana state court and demanded an injunction against the WBIT when it inexplicably failed to award an at-large invitation to our women's basketball season co-champion, Ball State, and instead added two teams from autonomy conferences with losing records and several other teams that were less deserving."

In classic Steinbrecher fashion, he then pivoted to referencing from popular media to discuss the issues facing the NCAA at large, and how the league and schools can approach them.

Quoting from Kacey Musgrave's uncensored version of "Uncertain, TX" and JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, Steinbrecher said that Musgraves' lyric "Nobody ever makes up their dusty, old, love-bombin'/snake-charmin',/bullshitin'
heartbreakin',/godforsaken,/dumbass mind" does in fact "mimic" some of the behaviors of the sport "right now."

"Uncertainty has always existed in the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics, and quite frankly, in higher education," Steinbrecher clarified. "But the volume and the velocity of that change are unlike anything we've ever seen before; you could say that about a lot of segments of society. Leaders are navigating the shifting governance structures, legal challenges, NIL and revenue sharing evolution, conference realignment, employment questions, media disruptions, and the rapidly changing public expectations, often simultaneously. The challenge is not eliminating uncertainty; the challenge is leading effectively through it."

Steinbrecher then turned to a more optimistic vision, recalling the fictional character Albus Dumbeldore to center his next discussion point.

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light," Steinbrecher opined. "My friends, the light is our values and it's our guiding principles."

Steinbrecher then stated what he sees as the responsibility of the athletic department, saying athletics "exists to support education, student development, institutional identity, and community engagement."

"When the environment becomes unstable, organizations drift if they are not grounded in purpose..." Steinbrecher said. "Programs that remain mission-centered are better positioned to withstand external turbulence because they maintain clarity about why they exist not just how they operate."

Steinbrecher also emphasized colleges and universities need to "be able to distinguish noise and signal", and "[identify] what's temporary, what's structural, what fundamentally changes the model, and what merely changes the conversation," citing the private equity discussion amongst Division I leaders in recent months and cautioning league leadership that PE is "not a cure-all for our financial challenges."

(Utah, the first FBS school to allow private equity to buy in to the athletic department, may have been on Steinbrecher's mind, as the university announced a bevy of lay-offs earlier this week months after agreeing to take $500 million from Otro Capital.)

Steinbrecher also implored league leaders to be willing to be disciplined and patient in navigating the college sports landscape, saying they should "focus less on predicting the future perfectly and more on building organizations capable of responding effectively to multiple futures," communicate in a transparent and honest matter with their fanbases and student-athletes and to "keep the student-athlete central."

"In every era of transformation, there is a temptation to focus exclusively on revenue, on litigation, competitive positioning, or political pressures," Steinbrecher said. "But the long-term legitimacy of intercollegiate athletics depends on maintaining a meaningful commitment to student-athlete well-being, which is something I think this conference excels at and has been our bread and butter. That includes academic support, mental health resources, physical safety, leadership development, career preparation, and a genuine educational experience. If institutions lose sight of the student athlete experience, we all risk losing the moral foundation of college sports itself."

Steinbrecher's pessimism that potential changes will bring stability ("I don't think it will,") did not necessarily mean he does not believe college leadership can get moving in a positive direction.

"The goal therefore is not returning to a previous era of certainty. The goal is building a resilient organization that can function effectively amid continuous change," Steinbrecher said. "... Leadership matters most during uncertainty. In stable times, management is often sufficient. In uncertain times, leadership is indispensable. People look for leaders who remain calm under pressure, make principled decisions, listen carefully, demonstrate courage, provide hope without denying reality. And the institutions that emerge the strongest from this period will likely be those led by individuals who combine strategic thinking with emotional steadiness and ethical clarity."

Steimbrecher then ended his speech by assuring league leaders the MAC was uniquely positioned to try and evolve with the times using measured, thoughtful steps.

"The future will belong not to those who resist change entirely, nor to those who chase every trend," Steinbrecher concluded. "It will belong to those who can adapt thoughtfully while remaining grounded in purpose."