One commissioner is ringing alarm bells about a possible power conference takeover of the NCAA Tournament

Late last week, an unusual, pithy press release was published. The urgent 100-word statement was about “the future of college athletics,” and curiously enough, it was authored by one of the 12 members of the men’s basketball selection committee. 

The person who released the statement also happens to be a conference commissioner: Stu Jackson of the West Coast Conference. Here’s what he said:

“Assessing the numerous changes in college athletics and their effects, it appears the autonomy four conferences are seizing more decision-making power. It’s vital for the basketball-focused leaders, and a broader group of stakes-holding decision makers across college sports to build engaged and properly weighted representation as we look forward for basketball and Olympic sports in the wake of these discussions. The future of college athletics and the opportunities for the larger pool of student-athletes requires a diverse collaboration of representation focused on the greater good. Opportunities should not be commandeered by a few to dilute the fairest benefit to all.”

Jackson — the former No. 2 at the Big East, who now has vested interest in mid-major well-being — was compelled to speak up due to undetermined but nevertheless-worrying-to-many machinations from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. Those four are purportedly trying to put their thumb on the scale of NCAA championships (and the NCAA basketball tournaments in particular). There’s increasing worry over an eventual proposal that would fundamentally change the NCAA’s long-established and widely lauded championship structure and norms, giving additional control to the leagues already wielding more than their fair share. 

Keep in mind, the WCC loses March Madness mainstay Gonzaga to the Pac-12 beginning in 2026. 

I spoke with Jackson on Tuesday for a quick follow-up. I wanted to know his read of the room heading into February and why he spoke up first. He told me not enough people at high levels of college athletics are taking this situation with the proper amount of urgency and seriousness. 

“The Power Four conferences are bulldozing their way through this and there hasn’t been much attention paid to them, at least in my opinion, to the potential impact and effects. Their wants, how they’d affect conferences across the NCAA,” Jackson told CBS Sports.

Jackson’s statement came in advance of this week’s Collegiate Commissioners Association-22 (CCA-22) annual in-person meetings, held in Clearwater, Florida. The CCA-22 is a board of 22 commissioners from the leagues outside the 10 FBS conferences. (The broader CCA is the group of all 32 commissioners.) The CCA-22 don’t collectively wield as much authority, but their voices are loud and frequently heard across many channels within the NCAA. 

NCAA president Charlie Baker was on the docket for Wednesday at the summit. Nothing formal was voted on, but the powwow allowed commissioners who represent more than 65% of Division I to bluntly express their concerns.

“Good meetings. Lots of discussion on everything you could imagine,” one source told CBS Sports. “We have strong group.” 

There is an ongoing power struggle over what the NCAA’s championship structure should continue to be vs. the threat of what it could mutate to if put in the wrong hands. So far, the most powerful commissioners have stopped short of outright declaring their intentions, leading to a lot of speculation. The so-called Autonomy Four want more authority over championships, but no one’s sure what that means — not even SEC commissioner Greg Sankey or Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti.

That, in turn, has brought on anxiety.

The NCAA is scrambling to establish a new governance structure by June while awaiting the approval of the House settlement in April, creating a chaotic and uncertain environment. The timing is why Jackson urgently raised concerns about a potential power shift that could divert NCAA Tournament revenue — known as tournament units — away from the mid-major conferences that rely on it to sustain their programs and fund scholarships for Olympic sports.

Any changes to the tournament’s structure, including potential expansion, revenue redistribution, and adjustments to automatic-qualifier status that tilt in the Autonomy Four’s favor, would have a devastating financial impact on smaller leagues, Jackson argues. For more, read here: This article was a takeout from the Court Report, the weekly college basketball notebook from CBS Sports senior writer/insider Matt Norlander.