Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Figure He Doesn’t Take Seriously

SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum looks on prior to the game. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

If you follow college football closely, chances are you've heard the name Cody Campbell.

Who is Cody Campbell?

Campbell is a former Texas Tech Red Raiders football player and is now the school's Board of Regents chairman and one of the top donors for the Red Raiders. Campbell also serves as co-CEO and was the co-founder of Double Eagle Energy Holdings, an upstream oil and gas company.

The reason college football fans have likely heard of him is that he is very outspoken. He's been outspoken about the Protect College Sports Act.

He stated on "The Pat McAfee Show," that this bill “Does so much to protect and save (college) sports. This bill is a pro-athlete bill and an anti-chaos bill. I’ve been working on this issue for about five years, and I’ve never been so optimistic that we may have a solution to solve the problems (facing college athletics).”

On top of that, he was very outspoken in support of former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was banned from playing FBS college football this year due to a gambling issue. Sorsby was then granted an injunction against the NCAA.

This cleared the way for him to play football this upcoming season. However, he has since decided to leave Texas Tech and enter the NFL supplemental draft.

Texas Tech University Systems Board of Regents chairman Cody Campbell attends the Big 12 Conference championship football game. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Paul Finebaum Rips Cody Campbell

His outspokenness has led many media members to criticize Campbell, including ESPN's Paul Finebaum. On "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," he stated that he doesn't think anyone should give Campbell the time of day.

"As far as Cody Campbell is concerned, I don't take anything he says seriously," Finebaum said. "I don't believe anything he says. It is very disturbing to me that there are people in college athletics who give him the time of day."

The New Power Brokers in College Football

The issue for Finebaum is that this is the new era of college athletics. People like Campbell, who have a ton of national pull due to connections with Congress and their financial position, are always going to have a voice at the table.

Finebaum may not respect Campbell's voice, but that does not change the reality of modern college athletics. In the NIL era, the power structure has shifted, and major donors are no longer operating quietly behind the scenes.

Figures like Campbell now have money, influence and a direct hand in shaping the future of the sport, whether that's not through legislation, NIL policy or public pressure on the NCAA. Like it or not, that means Campbell is not going away, and neither is the growing power of people like him.