In short
The Rich Eisen Show (Hour 1) discusses two main topics: LeBron James’ unresolved NBA future and the state of college football realignment. On LeBron, Eisen argues the Lakers are effectively done as LeBron has not made a decision for weeks, while Adam Silver wants clarity for the national TV schedule. Rich Paul (LeBron’s representative) is quoted as saying reports of a decision within 48 hours are false, and that LeBron won’t be rushed; Eisen compares it to past “watch” situations like Brett Favre. On college football, ESPN CFB insider Pete Thamel reports SEC Media Week chatter about whether the SEC could break away from the NCAA, following Greg Sankey’s comments. Thamel explains the Protect College Sports Act (Cantwell/Cruz; private equity influence) has ambiguity and may have only about a 10% chance to become law, though it could offer short-term sanity on antitrust, transfers, and eligibility cost certainty. Notable examples include the NCAA tournament/Omaha and the “5-5” age-based eligibility change.
Guests
Pete Thamel (ESPN College Football Insider), Gerald McCoy (six-time Pro Bowler), Ryan Fox (Open Championship winner, returning from Royal Birkdale).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOLeBron James' Decision Dilemma
0:34 to 0:56
Discussion on LeBron James' ongoing decision-making and its impact.
“It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.”
LeBron James' Decision Dilemma
1:27 to 2:14
Discussion on LeBron James' ongoing decision-making and its impact.
“What is happening at the University of Michigan?”
Upcoming Guests and Topics
2:14 to 2:40
Preview of upcoming guests and topics for the show.
“He just finished sitting down an interview with Kirby Smart, So we'll talk with him about the Georgia football head coach's thoughts coming into the season.”
LeBron's Impact on NBA Schedule
2:40 to 3:52
Exploration of how LeBron's indecision affects the NBA schedule.
“He'll join us in our number three of this program.”
Social Media and Speculation
3:52 to 4:48
Discussion on social media speculation regarding LeBron's decisions.
“I had an opportunity to talk with you exclusively.”
The Pressure of Decision-Making
4:48 to 7:25
Analyzing the pressures surrounding LeBron's decision-making process.
“while we're waiting for LeBron James to make a decision, which is helpful for us while we're waiting for football to be played in this country, quite frankly.”
LeBron's Choices and Business
7:25 to 8:15
Discussion on the business aspect of LeBron's decision-making.
“I'll just say, we're not gonna be rushed.”
Media and Audience Reactions
8:15 to 14:00
Examining media and audience reactions to LeBron's uncertainty.
“And I say that respectfully because we haven't made it to where anybody knows anything.”
LeBron's Decision and Timing Dilemma
14:00 to 17:16
The hosts discuss the impact of LeBron's decision on basketball and competition schedules.
“Then it goes into August, and then we all adjust.”
Preparing for Rich Paul and Media Dynamics
17:20 to 19:18
Discussion about Rich Paul's response to the invitation and media strategies.
“I guess I should tell you, this would have been a perfect time to tell you that we did invite Rich Paul on, but he sent back 22 crying emojis.”
Show all 22 chapters
Golf Insights and Preparation for Ryan Fox
19:39 to 21:35
Hosts discuss golf insights and preparation for a guest appearance by golfer Ryan Fox.
“Here on the Rich Eisen Show, Ryan Fox is going to be joining us, fresh back from Royal Birkdale in hour number three.”
Pete Thamel on SEC Media Days
21:35 to 22:52
Pete Thamel discusses the atmosphere and key topics at SEC Media Days.
“Well, when you have four full days of media days, you get a little bit of everything, right?”
Legislation Impacting College Athletics
22:52 to 26:02
Thamel explains the Protect College Sports Act and its implications for college athletics.
“And then just generally, we cover a billion-dollar business that's fundamentally unstable.”
Greg Sankey's Strategic Position
26:02 to 28:01
Discussion on SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey's approach to NCAA challenges and conference dynamics.
“So now those two leagues obviously cover 26 states, right?”
Speculating SEC's Future
28:01 to 30:07
Discussion on the SEC's potential to leave the NCAA and what challenges lie ahead.
“Although I will say this, Kirby Smart just sat in our room and talked about his frustrations being in the SEC, being a coach, and simple things like rule changes, right?”
The Impact of Regionalism on College Football
30:08 to 36:32
Exploration of how regionalism affects college football's growth and connectivity.
“Like everything is complicated with the NCAA, and I do credit Charlie Baker for making things less complicated.”
Kyle Whittingham's Influence at Michigan
36:33 to 40:09
Insights into Kyle Whittingham's hiring and its implications for Michigan's football program.
“Like that's the great power of this sport is you do just never know, right?”
Michigan's Athletic Director Transition
40:10 to 42:00
Analysis of the transition in Michigan's athletic department and its implications moving forward.
“Yeah, I mean, look, to me, Ward Manuel is kind of the last vestige of the controversial era of pick your scandal, right?”
Michigan's Scandal Response
42:00 to 42:46
Discussion about Michigan's handling of their recent scandal and future prospects.
“And, you know, with the video that they released, it's sort of right from the scandal.”
Thanks to Pete Thamel
43:58 to 44:24
Wrap-up of the interview with Pete Thamel, appreciation for his insights.
“A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, and that's overcoming high interest credit card debt.”
Brian from San Diego Calls In
44:34 to 45:44
Rich engages with a caller from San Diego discussing the Chargers.
“844-204-RICH is the number to dial here on the program.”
LeBron James and the Sixers Discussion
45:44 to 47:14
Discussion on Dan Patrick's take about LeBron potentially choosing the Sixers.
“You know, that's why Kornheiser never wanted to say hello to anybody.”
Transcript
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0:56Rich Eisen:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Now ready! This is the Rich Eisen Show. What is happening at the University of Michigan? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Award manual after the end of this year, we'll step down. Are we just going to get full transparency on this?
1:40Rich Eisen:Today's guests. ESPN College Football Insider, Pete Thamel. Six-time pro bowler, Gerald McCoy. Open Championship winner, Ryan Fox. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
1:58Hey, everybody.
1:59Rich Eisen:Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We're live on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN radio, coast to coast, and Sirius XM Channel 80, wherever you get your satellite radio signal. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Pete Thamel is going to be zooming in first in 20 minutes time from the SEC Media Week. He just finished sitting down an interview with Kirby Smart, So we'll talk with him about the Georgia football head coach's thoughts coming into the season. And Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, saying yesterday, hey, it's not leverage if we're going to break away from the NCAA.
2:34Rich Eisen:We're thinking about it. So much to talk about with Pete when he joins this program. Ryan Fox, the Open champion winner, fresh back from Royal Birkdale. He'll join us in our number three of this program. And we've got ourselves an overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. We got a lot going on here on this day. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial again to have a conversation with us on this show. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. How are you? Hey, Rich. What's happening, Mike? Are we good over there, Mike Del Tufo? What's going on? I see a lot of chatter starting the program. We're just checking some stuff.
3:05Rich Eisen:Good to see you, TJ Jefferson. What's going on over there? How are you? Chilling, man. How are you doing? I'm doing very, very well. Nothing like having communication issues when you sit around for an hour and you don't hear about them and then you go on the air and now you do. Hey, listen, that's the way things go in this business. You're right. Hey, so let's start this program with the latest from LeBron James. LeBron James. And the latest from LeBron James is there's nothing from LeBron James. And we're closing in on the third week of July. And LeBron James has had the entire month to make a decision.
3:42Rich Eisen:And he has yet to. And the only decision he made quite decisively was essentially to tell the Lakers, we're not going to be business partners any longer. We're done. I'm not playing for you. I had an opportunity to talk with you exclusively. That didn't happen because I didn't want to. And now here we are coming up on this this weekend in July. Still wondering what's going on. and um the commissioner of the nba adam silver at fanatics fest last week that's basically essentially saying hey um can we pick it up here can we uh can we uh decide go come on man because uh we'd like to decide um on the national television schedule when LeBron James is going to be playing and we can't figure that out if we don't know where LeBron James is going to be playing.
4:42Rich Eisen:LeBron's kind of holding the league hostage right now? Now we have to, here's what we do. Here's what we do while we're waiting for LeBron James to make a decision, which is helpful for us while we're waiting for football to be played in this country, quite frankly. Because I'm not going to sit here and talk about a Boston Red Sox 14 game. i mean what are you talking about all right well we'll we'll talk about it so close i'm not gonna lead the show i'm not gonna lead never um so uh here here's where we are where are we rick when we're searching for information we go to social media right uh where yeah oh yesterday uh um mark spears right who's very um respected in our business is looking towards the pre-season basketball schedule to figure out well if the lakers are the first pre-season game scheduled for the warriors well obviously lebron's got to go to the golden state warrior and meanwhile everyone in the comments was pointing out that they play each other every year in the pre-season well listen so the googly eyes can be out there on social media and we're paying it to pat bev we we even looked at pat bev's social account i'm saying hey i'm hearing that lebron james He's making his decision today.
5:51Rich Eisen:And then that didn't happen. So social's not helping us. Now we just turn to the podcast world. That's right. Certainly when a podcast is being produced and co-hosted by the guy who would know because his name is Rich Paul and he's LeBron's guy who would know. And he's sitting with Max Kellerman on the set of Game Over, which is weird. Is it a video game podcast?
6:22Rich Eisen:i saw that a lot in high school playing video games and looking for a prom date but listen listen shout to the red those are pages turned those were decisions of different eras maroon limo maroon limo my bad i get the color wrong yeah i tell you guys too much about
6:46Rich Eisen:so rich paul um had the floor and and max kellerman brought up the fact that hey even the commissioner of the nba is asking you for an answer and rich paul said he went up to adam silver and talk with him about that comment roll it i saw adam in new york and we discussed it And like I said, it's still his choice. So if he doesn't really know, can't rush it. Can't rush it. So right now the league is aware of this, that he's not there yet. And we're not gonna be rushed. It doesn't matter. I don't wanna sit here and sound like this. I'll just say, we're not gonna be rushed. That's totally fair for you to say.
7:29It is his choice to make, and when he makes the choice, he's making it. There's a report that the decision's gonna come in the next 48 hours. Also false. These people don't know anything, man. All these reports. It doesn't make sense. I don't know when his choice is going to be made, but it could be 48 seconds. It could be 48 minutes. I don't know. Again, you can't make somebody know something that they don't know.
7:53Rich Eisen:Okay, there you go. First of all, I love Rich Paul. I love him. I love his story. I love who he is. I love he was wearing a Yankee hat. I love all of that, but he says it's false. He's going to make a decision in the next 48 hours and then gives two periods of time that would actually fall into the next 40, 48 seconds, 48 minutes. Actually, fall into the next the first hour of the 48. We are confused. Rich, don't keep confusing us more. OK, maybe we still know. What is the NFL equivalent of this? Like who would hold up the NFL? Brett Favre. Favre. You lost hair over there, right? Rogers back in the day.
8:30Rich Eisen:I wouldn't say that. Rogers never held up. never held up a schedule uh i don't know i mean somebody obviously of lebron's stature he just named two first battle hall of famers so but but farve watch didn't go into you know the schedule always comes out in may it didn't go into june oh yeah dude yeah dude oh you don't you remember he said i'm i'm i'm gonna be done and then he's like i'm not done and then there and and don't you remember mccarthy's like we've moved on you don't remember that we've moved on rich you lost i even told you we heard that ted thompson went down mooch told me no it wasn't mooch told me that who told me this i don't know i heard from somebody that uh much no that was somebody told me that that ted thompson went down to farve's house in mississippi and farve thought he was going to ask him back right he told him we're willing to send if you want your locker actual locker from from lambeau field we'll we'll cut out your actual locker and send it to you and far you know but the nfl was essentially like what i'm saying is what is this all about literally holding up the tv partners and the league and i don't blame him what do you mean you don't blame i don't know because he's got to make its decision he's thinking about it he's not thinking about it well this is what rich paul started um you know hey max started going down this road with him that this is for show.
9:55Rich Eisen:Hit it. None of these people know anything. Nobody knows nothing. And I say that respectfully because we haven't made it to where anybody knows anything. But let me take your temperature on something. Sure. But no, let me finish first. Let me finish. So I think it's important for people to understand we're not making this about attention and a spectacle. It's not It's not about a decision or anything like that. He has a choice to make. He has a business choice to make. We're not gonna sit here and decide or allow someone else to decide when he makes that decision or that choice. It's a business choice that he's making.
10:33And I think as an athlete, why is it that an athlete has to rush his choice? Okay, I wanna answer that. Because from a business perspective, from a business perspective, you are making a choice between jobs, high level jobs, and you've earned the right, you're a big-time executive that's with an unbelievable, arguably the best resume in the history of your job, who's rushing you? Nobody.
11:03Rich Eisen:I know what you're thinking. I know what you're thinking. It's not the LeBron James Basketball Association. I know what you're thinking. So what? What do you mean it's not the LeBron James Basketball Association? This is so disrespectful to the 300 other players in the league, every other team and i i i will push the front on vehemently on that one i'm sure 299 players don't even care about i don't blame him man he's got one more shot at figuring this thing out we have no idea you think he knows you think he knows and he's just drawing it out is that what you're saying i think i think he knew a month ago well rich paul had this to say because max went right there he hit the nail right on the head for you about whether this was for show What do you say about that?
11:46That people are like, LeBron loves the attention and that's why they're doing this. It's the lowest hanging fruit for when you don't have the information. That's just what it is. Commissioners here saying we can't even set the schedule till we know. He must be flattered by the attention. And we understand that, though. Is he flattered by the attention, do you think? I don't know. I don't talk to him about him. Are you proud of it? Are you proud of it? I understand it. I understand. I think he's earned it. Yeah. When you've been a partner to the NBA the way LeBron has been, he's earned it.
12:17Rich Eisen:The seat he sits in today, he's earned. Let me tell you, man. You know who's going to wait to see where LeBron James lands and be fine with it? You know who's going to wait? Amazon. NBC.
12:34Rich Eisen:And ESPN. ABC. Name them. you know the the local networks who cover the five teams that are apparently in the running they can wait well they shouldn't well i mean does does it doesn't it doesn't matter at the end of the day if it's another week you can still figure it out you can still figure it out you know so let me ask you this question do you think the philadelphia 76ers with Jalen Brown, right? The Heat with Giannis, okay? Who else is in this mix? Oh, the Golden State Warriors with Steph and Draymond, okay? The Minnesota Timberwolves with Anthony Edwards or the Cleveland Cavaliers with Spider Mitchell and James Harden, whatever.
13:29Rich Eisen:Do you think that they're right now all of them or most of them off the table for Christmas Day off the table
13:42Rich Eisen:Giannis and the Heat are only going to play on Christmas Day if LeBron comes you know what I mean so then what is the hold up so the fact that obviously they want to know but who cares if he's going to figure it out over the next week what if this goes into August Who really cares? Huh? What if this goes into August? Then it goes into August, and then we all adjust. And it's just, you know, it's so earth-shattering that we don't know who's going to be playing on this day or that. I understand that everybody wants to get plans, and they've got to figure it out, and selling tickets. I mean, you've got to figure that out as to who's playing on this night or this nationally televised broadcast.
14:25Rich Eisen:We flex into games now. We flex into games last minute. Who cares? He better do this before training camp starts because once football hits, no one is going to care. I think he's going to want to. For his own for his own deal. But right now, it's been a few weeks. Who the hell cares? Really? At the end of the day, I know Adam Silver said we'd like to know and they'd like to know. Everybody wants to plan. I get it. I get it. But he's got one last shot at this thing. And if I'm him, I'm. I don't know. I mean, you're weighing, you're not weighing the aspect of business outside of the NBA. Because once upon a time, Maverick Carter was sitting right here when he was going through this the last time, right?
15:12Rich Eisen:And I'm like, well, you know, he's going to want to be maybe here in Los Angeles for purposes of your shingle and production company. I mean, this is where production takes place mostly, right? and Maverick Carter's like Rich you don't think you can take a meeting about a movie or TV show in Detroit and I'm like good point thanks for coming on Mav you know so for real it's just like the home front does he want to be closer to Southern California you know what does his wife think about this what does the rest of his family think about this who cares Let's have him figure it out. So. How about this?
16:01Rich Eisen:If he doesn't decide by next week, I'm calling Rich Paul and I'm like, let's go. Either way, I'm calling Rich Paul and saying, let's go. You should. Why not? Right? It's a good move. I agree. Thank you. I only make good moves here. I like to think. Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. Is any of this on the part of that? LeBron? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, good. is Tom Brady part of it? Because you said yesterday you didn't want to hit that subject about it. Okay. It's on a reaction Monday into Tuesday. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Any other topics you want to spoil? I'm just asking. It's called teasing. Chris. What else do I know?
16:40Rich Eisen:Thank you. What else do I know? Thank you. All right. We'll take a break and Pete Fowles is going to join us. Let's go. The latest on World of College Football. Everybody. Get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong. Right now, you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. Plus, there's our bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech. Or go all electric with the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event.
17:16Rich Eisen:Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. I guess I should tell you, this would have been a perfect time to tell you that we did invite Rich Paul on, but he sent back 22 crying emojis. That's weird. Pete Thamel when we come back on The Rich Eisen Show.
17:36Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here for Gusto. On my shows, we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight, the games, the highlights, and the moments that get replayed and debated. But in any successful operation, what happens behind the scenes matters just as much. Small businesses are no different. Payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job, but they still have to be handled right. That's where Gusto comes in. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use.
18:09Rich Eisen:So you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget and it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters onboarding docs direct deposit and more plus you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price no hidden fees no surprises tried gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll that's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich one more time gusto.com slash rich rich eisen here with some advice if high interest credit card debt is grinding you down it might be time to call an audible with a sofi personal loan it consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required and with as soon as the same day funding you can make the right play fast call an audible on your debt today at sofi.com slash debt play loans originated by SoFiBank NA, member FDIC, terms and conditions apply, NMLS 696891.
19:17Rich Eisen:Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debt play. Save$2 when you buy two cans of Superior Products Coverall tire dressing. Plus receive four times O rewards points now at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or OReillyAuto.com. The Rich Isis Show Podcast. Here on the Rich Eisen Show, Ryan Fox is going to be joining us, fresh back from Royal Birkdale in hour number three. Do I need to form my questions fast in honor of him? We'll set a timer. You've got eight seconds to get each question out. I've got eight seconds. I can't be ponderous.
20:01Rich Eisen:Can't do a lot of ums and rahs. I've got to formulate the question. Just fire it out. Don't think about it. See it. Go do it. And the thing also about him, you look at his swing, not that I'm a swing doctor, but I do play one on TV. And, you know, with the performance golf people and my guy, JT, who really gave me some great tips for the American Century Championship. And he's now part of the legion of individuals I've patently let down with my results. just the way that he brings his club down and hits the ball is not normal. And he bends his knees as he's meeting the ball. He gets very low to the ground.
20:45He's very, you know, it's not a conventional swing. It's kind of awkward looking. You wouldn't teach your son or daughter to model your swing after his. But, you know, the name of the game is hit it straight. Get it in the hole. Yep.
21:01Rich Eisen:I know. Man, he does that. He did that. And he's going to be joining us in hour number three of this show. It'll be great. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the program. He's checking in right now from the SEC Media Day where he just got out of an interview with Kirby Smart for ESPN. It's been a while since we've had this man on. Ladies and gentlemen, back here on the program, Pete Thamel. Good to see you, Pete. How are you? What's up, Pete? Rich, never been better, man. never been better we're in uh day two of four at the sec media days week three of four of media day season so we are uh right in the throes of uh complaining season we all sit around and point out the problems in college athletics without any imminent solutions well this is my question for you just uh the the macro to start this thing yes what is what is the general tenor at a media week right for a conference as big as the sec and what are people talking about Are they really talking about the state of college football, certainly based on Greg Sankey's comments yesterday that don't don't think we're playing around if we're thinking of taking our football and going somewhere else?
22:09Rich Eisen:Pete? Well, when you have four full days of media days, you get a little bit of everything, right? You get some macro talk like Kirby Smart just came in and talked to us in the ESPN.com room. And I would say it was 15 minutes, 13 of them were talking about, like, should the SEC break away? What it looked like all that. It was like big thought stuff. And like the last question was like, hey, your team, you won back to back SEC titles. Like, think you'll be good? You know, and then there is some where you get, you know, the Kentucky safety and the Auburn kicker and like some of the, you know, really dialed in micro stuff to the Auburn quarterback Byron Brown just came and chatted with us.
22:43And, you know, that's obviously like dialing into the minutiae personnel and different things. So they end up being a really good cliff notes for how the season is going to unfold in the micro. And then just generally, we cover a billion-dollar business that's fundamentally unstable. And many would tell you unsustainable, although it seems to be sustaining pretty fine year after year. So there is always looming questions because this has always been my theory, Rich. The setup of college athletics, like the way it is right now with, I think, 138 FBF schools right now, four power conferences, six non-power conferences.
23:18There's never going to be a time of peace. Does that make sense? I think we've all embraced like there is never going to be a time of certainty. I think we're in a very specific moment of uncertainty right now. And we're on the precipice of significant change. And no one knows if that's going to happen in six weeks with this bill. Probably not, but it could. No one knows it's going to happen in a year or six months. Like there are myriad options, myriad problems.
23:42Rich Eisen:Solutions and paths are much more elusive. All right. So let's take this one step at a time. The bill you're referring to. Yeah. You want to let everybody know, you know, a lot of people are reading about it, hearing about it and how it is kind of either messing with the order of things or is helping at least usher some decisions to get made to find some order. Pete? Yes. So the Protect College Sports Act, Rich, is right now potentially could reach the floor of the Senate in the upcoming weeks. Whether that happens or not, there is still a lot of ambiguity around that. There is no certainty to this bill.
24:21And as I think the minutiae of it is debated and language is debated and talked about and written about it. When you pull away, it's like, OK, this thing probably still has about a 10 percent chance of ever becoming law. Right. So every iteration is going to deal with a reaction, especially the realignment portion. Right. Realignment is essentially the paradigms of a multibillion dollar business. And so that is obviously, you know, the amount of energy, focus and time spent around that is really, really significant. hint um there are a lot of things about the bill that everyone agrees on right that antitrust uh exemptions in terms you know more certainty in terms of transfers in terms of protecting rights state by state some cost certainty as they would call it in the industry where the you know it is not sustainable for the the cost of uh talent to keep going up by 40 percent every year right even the nfl which makes gobs of trillions you know has has a cap and it's it's moved up now Now, again, we're pointing out the problems.
Read the full transcript
25:16The bill could offer some solutions to short-term sanity, especially the protection from state courts. We've just seen the entire industry in a whipsaw over eligibility decisions and such. So those are things everyone agrees on. The problem is when you invite Washington to fix your problems, everyone's going to have their own spin on it. And this particular bill was really pushed forward by Senator Cantwell in the state of Washington, which has Washington state aggrieved from realignment. They got left behind and they're in the Pac-12. They're not in a power league anymore. And then you have Senator Cruz, who's tied tight to Cody Campbell.
25:54Private equity has had a significant stick in voice in this bill. So that helped everything push forward to this moment. And the bill was essentially written despite the SEC and Big Ten's participation. So now those two leagues obviously cover 26 states, right? And they have, you know, it would be hard to pass a bill that the SEC and Big Ten don't support. And Congress has realized that in the last few weeks. And there have been a lot of conversations. I would say the conversations have picked up between Congress and those sides more maybe in the last three weeks than ever. Cantwell herself has been hands on calling coaches, calling athletic directors.
26:31There is a sincere desire to get it over the goal line. But what we're seeing in the past few weeks, Rich, is people who are uniquely unqualified in Congress to fix college sports problems are now having to become experts, whereas the people who have failed to solve college sports problems at least know the general tenor of the issues and solutions. So the congressional folks are being caught up. They've stepped in it a few times with different realignment things, and they've gone sideways with the Big Ten. So it's just – it's a big quagmire right now where it is. And we will see in the upcoming weeks if the bill can get enough momentum to maybe make the Senate floor.
27:08But it's still four steps away at that point from becoming law.
27:10Rich Eisen:Well, then then let's turn to somebody who can actually do something about it in short term and long term. And that's Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC. Pete Thamel here on The Rich Eisen Show. in the well geez let me put this way 14 years of this show's history and then the three years of the podcast that it was before the 11 years that we're doing this uh i i don't recall anybody that i've interviewed that i need to be on my toes for more than talking to greg sankey because every question i ask he's already like a machine figuring out the 15 different possible ways he could answer it in a way that he doesn't want to answer it or it could be a problem for him to answer it or and then and then he'll also correct my suppositions because they're unfounded in his mind I mean you know what I mean like you've got to be on your toes talking to him so every word that comes out of his mouth is curated and has a meaning to it so for him to basically say this is not posturing for us to say at the sec we would take our football and leave the ncaa and start something new which he said basically on monday what does that look like pete and when like that's a whole set of hypotheticals that right i i appreciate him saying it out loud and he is certainly calculating right that that is not a man who does things impromptu greg senke as you as you just intimated rich that that is not that and a you can look you can look at a couple so first of all just if they are to break away would the television contract that goes through 2036 allow that want that um would the uh would the house settlement that everybody signed up for for i believe nine more years the multi-billion dollar settlement that really runs college sports right now in a lot of ways that people don't acknowledge like can you break out of that and start your own thing so there are significant headwinds to that idea now there's two there's two paths here right there's self-governance which is a real path and that that's a path i think that's very viable if this bill fails and the percentages say the bill will fail um and then the other path is like the complete secession leave the union if you will um the complications of the leave the union path you know we could do like a five-part miniseries on i'm not saying it couldn't happen but i am just saying boy there there's a lot of it so i do think that in this moment as the big 10 and the sec are essentially negotiating with congress to try to get this bill um to be less prohibitive to them and less headwinds to them i do think reminding people of that what the sec can do and the power of the sec isn't like an unwise thing for greg sankey to do So while that road could be tilled someday, I don't think that is an imminent option, like the take our ball and go home option.
30:06Although I will say this, Kirby Smart just sat in our room and talked about his frustrations being in the SEC, being a coach, and simple things like rule changes, right? Like everything is complicated with the NCAA, and I do credit Charlie Baker for making things less complicated. The age-based eligibility that's commonly known as 5-5 that just passed, that's a significant accomplishment for Charlie Baker. Charlie Baker has noticed the fat in the NCAA and the rules-making process, decision-making process, and tried to streamline that and has done a good job of streamlining that. But it still needs a lot more streamlining.
30:43So all of these things, Rich, from the macro are starting to look less like each other. The Big Ten and the SEC, they look a lot like each other, right? And everything else is starting to look a lot less like them. And that is only going to be amplified as the years go on here. And those are the fundamental tensions that are driving some sort of next iteration. But what that next iteration is, is just really unclear at this point. You know, so speculating the SEC could go do that on their own, that's fine. But do they just, would it be of national interest if the SEC didn't play anyone else and only played each other?
31:24Now, certainly, like, look, the ratings bear out. You know, the Big Ten has been the dominant league the last three years. That's not arguable. That's happened on the field. The SEC has wildly dominated ratings, much disproportionate to the, you know, you look at the 4-0 record that the SEC, the Big Ten has against the SEC in the playoff. The SEC has dominated ratings. So the interest is there. but would that interest grow or dull if the sec operated by itself right just it didn't interact my again i'm not a television expert i'm not a consultant but my theory would be it would less it would lessen not more no there would still be interest i mean the regional passion the sec is unbelievable the national interest is unbelievable but if you don't have that cross-section like i don't know if that like if you really start going multi-hypotheticals down the road i don't know like if that's the best way for them to grow i don't think they'd be able to like let's just you
32:19Rich Eisen:hit the nail on the head here pete i mean i don't think they'd be able to go off on their own and and just do an sec football season because we'd all sit here and you in your spot at espn me on my spot here would you be like well could they have taken on the the big 10 champ could they have taken on the big 12 champ or the acc champ if they're clearly head and shoulders above everybody else and we'd be sitting now now we're back in like the bcs era now we're back in the before the bcs era we've turned the clock back in a way that that's not very good but the you hit the nail on the head he might be also sending a smoke signal in any way shape or form to tony petiti before he has his media day and the same thing's going to be asked to him and he'll be like yeah we're thinking the same thing and then now suddenly you got the big 10 you got the sec and you're more than in all honesty two-fifths of the way there you're you're you're you're you're you're super league in this thing and that's the question is is is when and what's the impetus of it because you said big 10 and the sec look more like each other uh and the divide of them and everybody else is getting larger in many ways so that's that's the question is where's the big 10 on all this pete yeah so the the big 10 has similar frustrations to the sec in terms of rules making in terms of process, in terms of governance, right?
33:41But there's also, you know, there was a lot of rhetoric out of Washington of like, it was like fear-mongering about super leagues and about those guys breaking away. And again, Rich, just to like throw all the different hypothetical wrenches into this, if you break away and the SEC runs on its own, what do you do with the NCAA tournament? Like, what do you do with Omaha, right? Like, if you really want to break away, like, are you going to give up all of the very powerful platforms for your non-revenue sports, football would be fine in the SEC. I'm not diminishing what football could be, but it would be regional and it wouldn't be national.
34:16So there are just, when you really start to unwind, like breakaway, chatter makes a nice headline and certainly nothing traffics on the internet better than realignment talk. Like any editor would tell you that in any place, right? Just because it's the fundamental basis for the billion dollar industry, right? And the potential of it, the looming thought of it, like nothing sends the clicks through the roof like realignment shifts. It's just a reality of, you know, if you look back at the last 20 years. But for, and I have a ton of respect for the SEC and the regional passion, and I live it every week on game day, and it is awesome and it's unbelievable and certainly due for the Big Ten.
34:58But what you mentioned the BCS earlier, Rich, which warms my heart. Our friend Dan Wetzel wrote Death to the BCS, right?
35:05Rich Eisen:hey man i was there i was there that's those are my sports center days right where yeah sure brad edwards uh was part of the uh brad edwards brad edwards who's part of espn uh sports center research he was the king of like breaking out his slide rules and his protractors and this is 1.2 percent and i'm like come on can we just like suit up and play football you know what i mean like That was it, Pete. Yes. And the BCS, though, generally remembered as wildly unpopular. I really think almost like a missing part of the legacy of the BCS was that it taught us that this sport that has such a regional passion can be a national sport.
35:46And I do think the BCS lit the fuse for college football being the second most popular sport in America right now. The ratings are through the roof. But here's what you need. I remember going to cover a game at Oregon. It was either Bilotti or Chip in like 07 and sitting at a bar, McMenamin's there in Eugene and watching a South Florida Louisville game, you know, on a Thursday night or a Friday night when they were like both in the top 10 and BC, like, like what, what, what it did. And I tell the story cause like I'm in Oregon and there's Oregon fans. They were ranked highly watching South Florida, which was number two in the BCS.
36:23And like it connected everything together. Does that make sense? rich and if you if you remove that connection it's it's not going to help you uh the football would still be great don't get me wrong but that's not going to help you grow and just like the beauty of college football is the biggest to me my opinion is it's this big circus tent right it's this giant circus tent and you never know um you know who's the next lion tamer who's next going to be like if i'd come on your show three years ago and said indiana was going to go 28 and 2 under Kurt Signetti in those two years, you would have like an ambulance rushed to my house to have me like health checked, right?
37:02Right. And, you know, that's the great thing. Like that's the great power of this sport is you do just never know, right? And in the whole, you know, the ambition of, I went over to South Florida yesterday to see Brian Hartline and to see Rob Higgins, the athletic director there, and they're dreaming big. They're building a stadium. They're in the number one market in Florida and they want to grow, right? Like it's sort of the power of belief and possibility fuel college football maybe more than any other any other sport in america and what the bcs did was i think it connected everything coast to coast like usc fans were watching rich rods west virginia teams right like it just it had never had that connectivity before um in that and i think that's grown and it's got the playoff to where it is now and it's got the popularity to to where it is now so a retreat to regionalism would i think like honestly it would hurt the bottom line right And it would hurt the overall popularity of the sport because you want that interconnectedness.
37:59That only helps it grow.
38:01Rich Eisen:No doubt. In the few minutes I have left, Pete, not to go personal here, but on Monday, this show is going to emanate from Kyle Winningham's golf tournament. So I'm going to be right there. Well, I mean, I'm going to be in the middle of everything. What am I going to find when I go to Michigan, Pete? Walk me through what you think I'm going to find when I get there on Monday. Well, I think, look, Rich, Michigan made an unbelievable hire. Like Kyle Whittingham is one of the best football coaches in the last generation in college football. He took Utah from the Mountain West with barely a blip into the Pac-12, made them a contender, made them a conference title.
38:40He has been one of the most consistently performing football coaches in college football in the last 25 years. Period. End of story. One of the telling stats at Utah was they did this. So do you know the last quarterback from Utah drafted in the NFL draft, Rich? You would know this because you know more about the NFL draft than anyone. Do you know who it was?
38:59Rich Eisen:Alex Smith. It was Alex Smith, the number one overall who played for Urban Meyer. Kyle was the defensive coordinator. Now, they've had good quarterbacks since then, don't get me wrong. But he's almost done it despite elite production at that position, not because of it. And usually when you grow and flourish, you have a couple guys like that who can sling the pill or move it around a little bit and help you. So I really feel like there will be a consistency and professionalism at Michigan football that is going to permeate through that program that was perhaps not there in the past few years. So I think it's an unbelievable hire.
39:34It's such a good fit in the Big Ten. They've recruited really well. He has a strong front office there, and he's going to maximize the resources. He's a high-end game day coach, right? That guy's coaching a ton of high-stakes games, just a lot of college football games. They have an elite OC in Jason Peck. Jay Hill at BYU was one of the better defensive coordinators in that part of the world and in the Big 12 the past few years. Look, the resources at Michigan that are available right now, there should be a through line to success. And I'd be stunned if Kyle Whittingham doesn't succeed highly there.
40:09Rich Eisen:All right. But the rest of the morale, the next athletic director, everything else that's going on there, Pete? Yeah, I mean, look, to me, Ward Manuel is kind of the last vestige of the controversial era of pick your scandal, right? Whether it was Conor Stallions, which, you know, whether it was recruiting stuff under Jim Harbaugh. And then obviously there were the more serious things that happened with Matt Weiss. And then obviously the ending of Sharon Moore. And they're really rich. I think you're going to look around and be like, there's really no one that was here in 2023. There are people, don't get me wrong.
40:45And there's people in the athletic department. But the principles, if you really look at the core principles from that title team and all the controversies to right now, there's a few assistant coaches that have carried over and their football staff. And that athletic department hasn't had much turnover underneath Ward. So there'll be familiar faces there. But I think my takeaway from Ward Manuel was it was surprising he lasted this long. not necessarily it was surprising that he uh elected to step down at the uh at the end of this year uh look he won he won big and the the scandals unfortunately for him were bigger and uh you step back he had a really successful run it's hard to do it with 2016 to now right so that's what 10 11 12 years uh we're talking about um i guess 11 11 years as an ad that's that's a long time to be a modern college athletic director in a high-pressure place like that.
41:41And his exit by letting him stay the year means that they don't have to – look, if they had reason to fire him for cause, they would have fired him for cause and would have saved him millions of dollars, right? There wasn't enough in the report for there, so they'll hold hands and have one more football season and kind of let him go out gracefully. He clearly – President Grosso clearly has an affinity for Word Manual, and you saw that in his comments. So this is sort of like the negotiated point where Michigan came out and said, We did a lot of bad stuff, but we're really not going to tell you what it was other than we're going to use like weighty rhetoric to tell you it was bad and it's going to change.
42:13And, you know, with the video that they released, it's sort of right from the scandal. Let's move on playbook. Right. We have to admit fault. It's sort of like a mad lib when you when you look at it like they did. They checked all the boxes and did all the things, admitted just enough, have something punitive with the decision on manual and then they will press on and move on. But the beauty, Rich, I know you're obviously a big Michigan guy, of these big brands is they are set up and poised to win. This is not going to slow Michigan down. They are set up and poised to win again.
42:44Rich Eisen:Pete, thanks for the time. Greatly appreciate it. Travel safe. Look for more of my techs. You're the man. Appreciate it. Thanks, Pete. Yeah. Thanks, Rich. Appreciate that. Pete Fanel, everybody, from the SEC Media Week. We've got to beat it on down the line of the break. We'll be back in a second.
43:25Rich Eisen:We'll be right back. Posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent. Future stars who are already turning heads at age 14. Because next doesn't wait for an invitation, and neither do we. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach. We did it when we made advanced safety standard on every vehicle and engineered EVs with ultra-fast charging capability. Because the future isn't some far-off concept. It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA.
44:03Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, and that's overcoming high interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same day funding. That's correct. Pull off your own debt defying stump with a SoFi personal loan. Visit SoFi.com slash trick to learn more. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial here on the program. Brian and, is it called San Diego?
44:43Rich Eisen:Is that the way you pronounce it? Brian, you there? Let's keep it classy. What up, Rich? How are you, Brian? How you doing? What up, man? What's on your mind there in San Diego? The Wills. You know, just trying to survive the heat. I don't got AC in my studio, so I'm just roasting it in here. Okay. How are you guys doing? You want to do the traffic too, Brian? Traffic's okay. I mean, you know, I bike everywhere. I work remotely. Okay, very good. All right. We got two minutes for you. What do you want to do, Brian? You want to chat? What do you want to do? What can I do for you? Oh, I want to do the L.A.
45:18Chargers win or loss. Okay. Before I get started, I wanted to say, last time I called you guys, I didn't contemplate, but that was like the first time I ever called in like a radio show, like period ever.
45:29Rich Eisen:So yeah, I just want to thank you guys for doing all you do, you know? Well, Brian, here's what I'm going to do for you, Brian. I'm going to put you back on hold because we no longer have the time to fit it in right here. And I promise you on the other side, we're going to do this. Okay. So just put it back on hold. There goes Brian in San Diego. You know, that's why Kornheiser never wanted to say hello to anybody. He didn't. He just wanted to get. Right. Well, because then he gets to chit chat. Yeah. Yeah. What's wrong with chit chat? That's all good. Nothing's wrong with chit chat. By the way, you know, when I say San Diego, like that's the reference and we leave it at that.
46:07Rich Eisen:You don't have to take out the hammer and then pop down on top of it. Maybe some people don't get that. Okay. That's their problem. Dan Patrick said on his show today, DP, that if he's LeBron, he chooses the Sixers if Embiid is healthy. TJ. Wow. I mean, so he's not going to choose the Sixers. It's a healthy thing. If Embiid was always healthy, we'd have at least the ring. If Embiid is healthy. Maybe. And you've got Edgecombe, and you've got Maxie, and you've got Jalen Brown. Jalen Brown. Oh, yeah. And you want to be like the king of a town before you go out. Philadelphia would be the spot. Come on.
46:48Rich Eisen:I think Josh Shapiro would figure out a way to to put his statue next to him. Just roll out a carpet or something. The diehard sports fan governor of Pennsylvania would proclaim it LeBron James Day on the spot. If that means anything, you'd throw that in there. We're talking about practice. Yeah, all that good stuff. Hour number two, Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday is coming up. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
47:31You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment. You bet. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.
From the publisher
Rich and the guys discuss the latest developments (lack thereof) in LeBron James’ free agency and impending decision for his next team. (2:25)
ESPN CFB Insider Pete Thamel tells Rich if the SEC could possibly ditch the NCAA and form their own super conference (possibly in conjunction with the Big Ten), and what Michigan fans can expect from new Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham next season amid the turmoil surrounding the Wolverines’ troubled athletics program. (16:46)
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