July 1st has become the unofficial start of the College Sports Season, but truly it will forever be the date of THE Official Change in College Sport. This July 1st put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. Amateurism in College Sport is officially on its way out!
Pay for Play
There have been a lot of changes throughout Football History, which dates back to the late 1800s. Rules, Talent, Technique, Scheme and of course, the Business of American Football. There’s never been a sport in our history that has profited to such an extreme degree in any one country like American Football.
The Paid Athlete
The original American game was built from two popular European games (Soccer & Rugby) and played in Universities by students. The idea of “Pay for Play” started around the turn of the Century and was a source of contention until the time professional football teams started to appear and finally a league was formed in 1920. The National Football League.
College Amateurism remained a fixture for a hundred years, while Athletic Scholarships were the resource schools could offer their Athletes. Turning Pro early has become the norm since the last turn of the Century and now very few of the top players actually stayed in school long enough to earn their degree.
The 2020s have seen schools paying athletes through NIL Deals with major Conference ReAlignment and an expanded Playoff System. Now, the final piece to end amateurism has been put into place. Schools can pay their Athletes directly. A 20.5 Million Dollar Cap that will leave the smaller schools in the dust!
The entire College Sports Scene, and to a degree the High School Sports Scene as well, will be effected by a decision that was made official in court earlier this year based on a lawsuit started in 2020 by an ASU Swimmer. I have read through all the details myself. Anyone can do their own deep dive as I have, but my focus here is the effects this will have on College and Pro Football and what it means for powerspread.net going forward.
The Biggest Shift in a Continually Evolving Game
Ironically, there has already been a massive shift in the game over the last 25 years. Power Spread Strategy (Schemes) overtook CFB in the 2000s and “infiltrated” the NFL in the 2010s. The 2020s – which I labeled as the coming Decade of Flexibility in my 2019 Playoff Posts – would be the final piece to this massive strategic change.
The 3 precepts of Power Spread … Aggressive + Variety … and now … finally … Aggressive-Flexible-Variety. Almost every NFL, College, and High School team runs some variation of PS + Pro style offense with Defenses predictably following suit. Even the Special Teams phase of Football is experiencing a PS Shift in strategy.
This Shift has finally caught on with all of Football – from top executives to the fans – where a variety of power running combined with spread passing is now the norm. Dual Threat QBs, Positionless Football, new creative Scheme Combinations – all evolving fast.
Power Spread, in the end, is simply ALL that has come before – starting in the trenches (Power), combined with Kicking Skill (Roots of the Game), then moving into the Option Ideal + the Modern Pass Game (Spread). Use of the whole field to the extent of the rules in both Run & Pass.
Power Spread Strategy was a bigger evolution than most understand, but the end of the Amateur Athlete in CFB is overwhelmingly shifting the landscape.
This New Shift is arguably the biggest event since two previous ground breaking changes that occurred long ago. The original idea of a Line of Scrimmage invented by Walter Camp in the 1870s and the legalization of the Forward Pass in the early 1900s. Now, some 120 years later, Amateurism as a grand ideal is dead. Business only. Game over.
Fair Competition for the Small Schools
Is this an extreme take? Maybe. But rest assured, changes are on the way.
American Football is now entering a very unpredictable and possibly an unstable landscape. Regulations, Shifting Money Caps, more Lawsuits, more Conference Re-Alignment and continued changes in the Playoff System are all on the way.
What IS predictable is that the Big Schools, with all the resources and money, will soon have an unfair advantage over smaller schools. It’s happening fast. The smaller schools already are taking big hits as many of their top players head for “greener” pastures on a yearly basis now.
Ironically, the PS Strategic Shift that began in the 1990s actually gave these smaller schools with less Talent a chance to compete if they jumped to Power Spread Offenses ahead of the bigger schools. The huge Strategic Edge could at times overcome the Talent Differential.
Eventually the big schools caught on to this Strategy Shift and regained their superiority due to the disparity in Talent. A disparity that is now going to widen exponentially.
Two great examples of Big Schools w/ massive Resources & Talent who went straight back to the top when updating their Schemes are Ohio State with Urban Meyer and Alabama with Nick Saban. When Urban came on the scene at OSU with his Power Spread Offense, the team vaulted to the top quickly. It wasn’t a coincidence, that the same thing happened to Bama when Ole Nick finally gave into the idea of Power Spread Offense after a slight downturn for a couple of years.
Two Pro Leagues – NFL and College
So now, with no real Strategic Discernment and a quickly developing Talent Rip between the Haves and Have Nots, the concept of Fair Competition is fading quickly. I believe the solution – with Money at the forefront – will be to divide D1 College Athletics once again. Rather than 2 Subdivisions, move to 3. A Football Pro Subdivision – FPS – to along go with the Football Bowl Subdivision(FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision(FCS).
Whatever the name – there will be a College “Pro” League coming soon. Two Conferences, just like the NFL. Forty to Fifty Teams fighting for a number of predetermined Playoff spots that lead to the Big Game. Just like the NFL – BIG MONEY – all tied to competitive play focused on a dynamic playoff system.
We are already seeing the beginning of this idea with the recent Conference ReAlignment. The SEC is the big dog with the B10 being propped up along side it. The B12 and ACC will probably be busted up soon, just like the P12, leaving the 2 “Pro” CFB Conferences vying for the Playoffs.
Unlike College Basketball with its madly popular March Madness ending to the season, Cinderella in College Football will officially be kicked out of the ball!
Where does this leave Power Spread?
Good question…
Like it says in the pic above (my first design for this site) – the ever-changing face of American Football. The one constant always in life – whether one is aware of it or not – is Change.
Ch-ch-changes…
My life has changed radically since 2020 and now I wonder if I want to continue to be a part of of this radical change in Football.
For sure I am not happy with what’s happening off the field. I’ve never been a fan of the same tired broadcast media and all the nonsense on social media. Some of the best info out there on the web is very lightly followed, while the overwhelming BS is heavily sought after on a regular basis.
Now, the sport itself may completely lose whatever integrity is left, unless of course you are talking about the small money arena. In other words, alternative Football Leagues and Small Money College Ball.
Truth be told, my focus was never all the off-the-field shenanigans. I always concentrated my efforts on-the-field with a wider perspective beyond just the players on the field. Strategy and eventually the ideas of Culture were always my focal point. This is what I love to study.
Based on what I stated previously, this may be the best time in history to study these strategies now employed across all of the Football World. It’s certainly an exciting time from this viewpoint.
Football Strategies – A Reason to Continue
I don’t believe the “destruction of amateurism” in the game will ruin what’s evolving on the field with Power Spread Strategies. I am seeing it everywhere – even in Spring Football and at the High School Level. This is what continues to get my juices flowing.
So my life in general is beginning anew – why not Power Spread. Just stick to what I’ve studied and start to find a way to back off some on Research so I can take more time to produce consistent Content and really build my online presence.
This is something that’s eluded me for over a decade.
Can I do this … now?
Time for a New Beginning – Content over Research
Above is a screenshot of my Desktop. I’ve been using the Phil Steele CFB Mag since 2000 and cataloging NFL teams since 2017. I attempt to yearly study 130+ CFB teams. I also build reports on all 32 NFL Teams that consist of Coaching&Player Changes + Injuries. Each Coach has his pedigree listed in parenthesis next to his name. This includes all positional coaches + Special Teams coaches as well.
All of this is in addition to my continual study of schematic changes in the game and constant historical reviews to gain an overall perspective of how this game got to where it is at present and where it may be headed.
Needless to say, my Research takes ~80% of my football time. This is why there’s never been a concentration of consistent output from this site. I’m too busy collecting the content, rather than sharing it.
Even if I am willing to back down on my research, the real question would then be how?
A Mindset Change – Less is More
An old acting teacher of mine told me long ago that I need to learn the concept of “less is more”. Better late than never.
It’s taken a summer of contemplation to figure out what to do next. Years of study, not only from books and online material, but from actual coaches in the game as well – both past and present. Plus studying and breaking down game film. How can I realistically share all this research? Especially in light of the other endeavors in my life?
Well, Less is More is a good place to start. Maybe head back to ground zero. Square one. Not starting over, but rebuilding this thing, slow and steady, from the ground up. That would definitely require this new mindset as it relates to my time studying the game.
Ironically, this would be a good time to back off some of the research anyway. All the earth shattering innovation has slowed. Now everyone knows the styles – Pro & PS. It’s a matter of combining ideas, concepts and schemes more than developing new ways to exploit the ideas Space/Time/Team on the field.
I can jump on any game in any league at any time and tap right in to what’s happening and what new tweaks are being added. Teams are tweaking yearly – even weekly – at every level. But, again, I can start to pick and choose, back off some of the historical context and stay more present on a daily basis.
A New Beginning
Staying more present = less research = more time for content.
My goal for now is to start experimenting with this idea in context with everything else new happening in my life right now. See how well I can keep up on the 2025 season and not get lost in all the research from week to week or game to game.
In the beginning, the focus will not be on timely content. Just my own ability to stay current and not get lost in all the study. As the year goes on I will adjust if it’s not working or begin to share some content again if it is working.
By working I mean getting my time on research down to at least 50% (or less) and seeing how my time with football fits in with my other endeavors. If I feel motivated I may make a couple of youtube game breakdowns – again with the concept of “less is more”. Maybe one play here and there to show a scheme or concept, rather than a whole game breakdown.
As of now I am leaning towards doing Seasonal Previews for CFB and the NFL – again with the concept of “less is more” at the forefront. The season is already upon us. So it won’t be timely, but that’s not the goal at this time. Can I KISS it? Keep It Simple to some degree…?
Work in Progress
I started writing this post on July 1st. The first part about the change in CFB was written right away. This second part of where I am at in my life took much longer. Finding a way that works for me took a lot of time to let it come to me.
So I will Podcast some Seasonal Previews. First for CFB. Then the NFL. The goal to keep it “short and sweet”. That would be tough with my old mindset, but I will give it my best shot with this new mindset.
I will see how it goes and write another State of the Union to update the progress. If it’s working out then I may start providing more content with all my platforms. If not, then I will reassess again how best to go forward.
I’m excited to see how this all works with my new life and if I can eventually become a real content provider, while continuing to follow along and learn the game. I’ll do my best to keep the focus zeroed in on the field. Ignore the nonsense that swirls around all our world today.
Maybe one day a new site and even a book – who knows – but for now, just a new start from ground zero.
~PS
POWERSPREAD 