The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has warned the NCAA that it and the other four "power conferences" could form their own division if they do not receive the kind of autonomy they want.

According to ESPN, SEC Commissioner Mike Silve said they could team up with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 to form a "Division IV" if they wanted to. The NCAA is currently coming up with a proposal to grant the Power Five more autonomy, allowing them to create their own bylaws.

For example, coaches and leaders at schools in the SEC have previously stated they would like to offer their scholarship student-athletes the full cost of attendance. This would also include extra expenses like bringing family members of student-athletes to home games, long-term medical coverage and an incentive for those who leave early for the pros to return and finish their degree.

"It's not something we want to do," Slive said Friday, the last day of the annual SEC spring meetings. "We want the ability to have autonomy in areas that has a nexus to the well-being of student athletes. I am somewhat optimistic it will pass, but if it doesn't, our league would certainly want to move to a Division IV. My colleagues, I can't speak for anybody else, but I'd be surprised if they didn't feel the same way."

The Power Five argues that other Division I schools cannot afford the kind of amenities they want to offer. Creating another division would also make the gap between the Power Five and everyone else even larger, but it would give them far more freedom to govern themselves, ESPN reported.

"I've been so optimistic that we're going to stay in Division I that we haven't sat down and tried to map it out," Slive said. "But we know that failure to create what we're trying to create would result in doing something different. How we would construct a Division IV? We haven't looked in that.

"We hope everyone realizes we are moving into a new era and this is the way to retain your collegiate model. It would be a disappointment, and in my view a mistake, not to adapt the model. This is a historic moment. If we don't seize the moment, we'll make a mistake."

The NCAA has thus far been strictly opposed to budging off its model of amateurism, but several legal battles may force them to. The NCAA brings in billions of dollars in profits from television deals, ticket sales and more, but almost entirely because of the Power Five.

Related