Josh Pate shares thoughts on latest news in House v. NCAA settlement

In a changing era of college athletics, Josh Pate joined us on Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live to chat about the evolving landscape. Pate overviewed the House v. NCAA settlement as the federal judge on the case requested attorneys make tweaks to roster limits.

Key notes from Josh Pate interview

• I've always believed that March Madness is going to draw viewers regardless. Even if I thought college basketball was in a "bad place," I would think March Madness would do a good job.
   
• Over in the football lane, I was talking on the Cube Show yesterday and was asked if I worry about the future from an audience consumption standpoint. I said, “Of course.” That's the name of the game and the primary concern about the state of college football. It's kind of like if you're New Orleans, and I am St. Louis, we are both on the Mississippi River. If I take a ton of poison, call David Nuño immediately and ask if anything is happening, you would say, “No, because five minutes have gone by.” If five weeks have gone by, you might say something different because the poison has had time to reach you.
   
• I think about decision-making similarly in college sports. You can make the worst decisions, and everyone is still going to watch college football. Now, you give it time. You give it five, seven or 10 years. I don’t understand what the audience is. What about the people who are less attached? Don't you think that the fourth or fifth layer of people at the table can get pushed away with amateurism eroding? Of course, they could. I try to think long game, and ideally, I'd love to have the solutions to the problems before the problems are in our laps.
   
• From my vantage point, I have never been a die-hard NBA fan. I have always been on the periphery. I have never watched less NBA than I do now. I used to be a very casual viewer. I would watch the NBA Finals. I would watch the NBA Playoff and Christmas Day. I watch it, and I don’t feel like there is an over-the-cliff love of the game like there used to be.
   
• When I watch college football, I do think that love is there. I think they care more about themselves. I know this is very childlike, but honestly, that's what's great about sports. There is a compartment of youth that we don't want to discard that gets tapped into with sports. If what I used to tap into is no longer present in the NBA, I look at it and say that I have better things to do with my time. These guys are going through the motions.
   
• Kirby Smart was talking about passion and NIL. He was saying that there is no limit to what he would pay for that if he could find it. I asked him about the NHL All-Star game and told him that I haven't seen that in the NBA in a long time. That's what it takes to buy into a sports product.
   
• The federal judge looks at the House v. NCAA settlement the same way I looked at it. Part of the new settlement is that you are going to have a hard roster limit. It is going to shave off a layer of depth. Whether it's Mike Elko, Matt Rhule or Sherrone Moore, you have a lot of guys who have been around the program that might not be starting but are important to the culture of the team. You have to tell them by Week 1 that they don’t have a spot for you. Every coach has dreaded this conversation.
   
• Coaches won't know when for sure it has to be shaved down. The federal judge says to add a phase-in system. I looked at it and said, "It takes a federal judge to figure this out?" Outside of that, there are a million other rubber bands needed to cross the finish line, but that will affect this year the most.
   
• The A&M vs. Texas game was the first game that came to my mind because I felt helpless from the A&M perspective in short-yardage situations. Texas had the running back injuries. I thought all year about how they were going to convert in short yardage. It ended up biting A&M with the loss of Le'Veon Moss. Let's just say that A&M wins with Moss, and that's what it takes to tip that game. Well, then it's A&M going to Atlanta. We would be discussing with Elko the same thing we were discussing a couple of years ago with Brian Kelly. Look at what he did in year one. You also don't know what the playoff picture would have looked like. It's a fun one.
   
• The COVID-19 year is funny because if you were bad in the COVID-19 year, I totally ignore it. If you were good in the COVID-19 year, I totally acknowledge it. Alabama won the title that year, and I think of that team like any other title team.
   
• Not every team was terrible or great. You add A&M, closer to great than terrible, but just far enough away that they didn’t get to cash in on the playoffs. People forget about it. If they had made it, Jimbo Fisher would probably still be the head coach. Would they have been able to make noise in the playoffs? If they had just won one game and made the title game, that would have been wildly different.
   
• Not only does that change the year, but you can’t assume that everything after would have remained the same with Fisher. Maybe a coach or two that he wanted to hire ended up coming, and maybe a few more recruits came. You put a pebble in the river, and it alters it. Yeah, he keeps his job a lot longer, probably. But also, maybe he wins more. That one is fun, too. All of these things leave you questioning more after you answer.
   
• We know how 2024 turned out, but after 2023, when Florida State got left out of the College Football Playoff, I said that without Jordan Travis, there was no way that team was winning the national title. I thought to myself that, in the long term, it may share the best interest of the program to be left out. I thought that if you have to sacrifice inclusion for a terminally flawed team, but you get motivation, I thought it was going to serve them well. They fell off the cliff, and the mentality didn't serve them well. It would have been a good story, but they would have come up short without their quarterback. I don't know how differently the end of the season would have gone. I don't think there is a ton of difference.
   
• Matt Rhule at Nebraska is a good example. It's not a complete rebuild, but you have to burn it all down before you can rebuild.
   
• Kalen DeBoer at Alabama is a completely different situation. He inherited a B-plus to A-minus level situation that had its unique challenges, but this year, they should win.
   
• I don't know if I would say the same for Hugh Freeze. That’s a total rebuild. They need to make serious noise. I do have to look at you and unequivocally say that this team is on the right track and is much improved.
   
• I have a lot of concerns about DJ Lagway. Without him, I fundamentally have to re-alter my expectations on the team. Last year's progress was largely due to Lagway. They have a great wide receiver room that won't be tapped into without Lagway. Something is wrong. Now, I have to decipher whether that will affect him in the fall. I will err on the side of nervousness. I want to see him throw footballs.