Why Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy Says NCAA Is Becoming a ‘Negligible Factor’ in College Football

STILLWATER — Asked about the upcoming settlement of an NCAA antitrust lawsuit that will bring another wave of changes to college football, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy responded with a few questions.

“Everything is going to be new, and that’s what fascinates me now,” Gundy said. “As we move forward and become employees, the issue is, what do we do with the NCAA? Where do they stand? Because they don’t matter now.

“What role do they play as we migrate toward an NFL model? Whether they’re actually a factor or not. That’s going to be really interesting.”

Gundy and all of the college coaches are waiting for U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to sign a settlement with the NCAA that would change the current order of things, which is name, image and likeness, and likely change roster limits for college football teams.

“I’m fascinated by all of this, what’s next,” Gundy said. “Nothing surprises me anymore. We’re trying to get ahead of the game a little bit, which is tough because we don’t know what the parameters are yet.

The timing of when the settlement will go into effect remains unclear as the legal process is still ongoing, but Gundy’s questions are valid.

The NCAA’s role in college football continues to decline, with many speculating that major conference programs could break away from the organization in the future.

“That’s going to change again,” Gundy said. “Players are going to have employment contracts. There’s a whole range of things that are going to come out here in the next six to 12 months, maybe 18 months.”

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Gundy says Saturday’s practice match lacked discipline

After his post-practice news conference Saturday afternoon, Gundy turned to several media members and showed them a handwritten list on a clipboard he carried with him during the team’s practice game at Boone Pickens Stadium.

It was these types of penalties that were called during practice, which was concerning to Gundy given the experienced nature of his team.

“Given our experience and where we are, we make way too many mistakes from a discipline standpoint,” Gundy said. “We need to become a lot more disciplined.

“I don’t see any passivity in the way they practice. But you can’t just turn it on in the last week.”

Gundy said the Cowboys will play another practice game in the middle of the week and then another one next weekend before preparing for the game. OSU opens its season with a 1 p.m. game against South Dakota State on Aug. 31 at Boone Pickens Stadium.

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OSU coaches study impact of 2-minute warning

One of the lesser-talked-about rule changes for college football this year is the addition of a two-minute warning in each half.

While the impact may seem minimal, Gundy says the research he and his team conducted indicates it’s a bigger change than people might think.

“We had to get the research and analysis from the NFL to look at it,” Gundy said. “You wouldn’t think it would have such a big impact, but … there are so many scenarios that could happen. And especially in college.

“We’re in the process of studying that. We’re going through all of our sheets at the end of the half and at the end of the game. We’re going to have to be prepared in a lot of different ways, not just offensively but defensively as well.”

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This article originally appeared in The Oklahoman: Mike Gundy says NCAA won’t matter in college football’s future