Clemson AD Graham Neff: 'There Needs to Be Change' and 'Now's the Time'

In a recent appearance on The Packer and Durham Show, Clemson AD Graham Neff said now is the time to make real changes in college football.

With so many rules changes over the past year or so, college football is rapidly changing.

With the new rules surrounding NIL and the lack of any oversight, as well as the new rule giving all players the ability to transfer one time without penalty, head coaches across the country are having to deal with things they've never had to worry about in the past.

On top of that, there are very real concerns over the growing revenue gaps in the sport. The SEC and Big Ten are both set to sign new television deals in the near future, which would see schools in those conferences bringing in upwards of double the amount of television revenue that ACC schools generate. 

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has gone on record suggesting that the current model isn't sustainable. Numerous other head coaches, including Alabama's Nick Saban, have expressed similar concerns.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the sport, Clemson Athletic Director Graham Neff thinks there is no better time than right now to make real changes to the sport.

"Lot of momentum around, you know, now's the time, and what that looks like structurally for college athletics, for division one," Neff said recently on The Packer and Durham Show. "There just seems to be a whole lot of momentum around now, there needs to be change, for a lot of obvious reasons, and now's the time."

What that change actually looks like, no one really knows at this point. However, Neff did say he could envision a scenario in which there was a complete break from the NCAA.

"From an industry standpoint, or a Power-5 standpoint, you know, what does it look like." Neff said. "There's been a lot of options and discussions and there's still a lot of questions to be answered. But I think if there's one thing that has a lot of coalescence around not only our league, but the industry is now is the time. Now's the window to effect change."

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips recently echoed those same sentiments, telling the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Ken Seguira that a total break is something that should be explored.

“I’ll just say this, I think it’s time to look at alternative models for football," Phillips said. "If we’re ever going to do something, and I hear about the future of football, and taking care of the sport of football, this is the time to do it. This is the time to do it, when you’re reorganizing a structure like the NCAA, what are you doing with the sport of football? Does it need to be managed separately? Do you need to have a governance structure? Those are questions we should be asking ourselves.”

The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022.

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