As many college athletic programs are preparing for the postseason and finishing fall regular season schedules, there has been an ongoing public discussion about the future of “mid-major” athletics. George La Noue, professor emeritus and research professor of public policy and political science, wrote an op-ed published in The Chronicle of Higher Education in which he analyzed the current state of mid-major athletic programs and discussed what he called their “muddled future.”

“While media attention is overwhelmingly focused on big-time intercollegiate athletics, a crisis is developing for most of the 351 Division I institutions that cannot afford to play at that level,” wrote La Noue.

La Noue discussed how the NCAA changed its governing structure this year to give more influence to 67 universities in the Power Five football conferences, which left the mid-major programs outside of those conferences to face financial challenges.

“Those colleges are now faced with substantially increasing their athletic expenditures to try to preserve the pretense of Division I status. The Power Five institutions have budgets of three, four, or even five times as much as that of most mid-majors. They also now have NCAA authority to offer enhanced ‘full cost’ multiyear financial-aid packages to their recruits. The current playing field is decidedly not level. Division I is an unhappy family. Institutional choices for the leftovers will not be easy.”

To read the full op-ed titled “The Muddled Future of Mid-Major Athletics,” click here.