Iowa State AD voices frustration with Big Ten, SEC over roster spending: 'Let them break away, go do it'
Cyclones' AD Jamie Pollard is not happy with the two conferences' reluctance to adhere to rules laid out by the College Sports Commission

With roster spending in college football essentially impossible to govern, many athletic directors at elite programs want expanded revenue-sharing and NIL caps -- and some would prefer to scrap the current framework altogether.
The College Sports Commission was created last year as part of the House v. NCAA settlement to monitor third-party NIL contracts and oversee the NCAA's revenue-sharing model. However, the enforcement entity threatens some of the advantages enjoyed by the Big Ten and SEC, whose revenue streams, NIL deals and talent accumulation dwarf much of the rest of the Power Four.
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, whose football roster was depleted last offseason following Matt Campbell's departure to Penn State, voiced frustration Monday and suggested it may be time for the Big Ten and SEC to follow through on longstanding speculation about breaking away from the NCAA.
"The four commissioners (Big 12, ACC, SEC, Big Ten) spent a lot of money creating the CSC," Pollard said Monday during a booster event in Des Moines. "Then to have two of the conferences not want to adhere to it is perplexing to me, because then why did we spend the money? If you didn't want rules, then why did you create this entity? That's what's frustrating to me. The same people that say they want rules only want rules if they don't apply to them.
Jamie Pollard expresses his frustration with the Big Ten and SEC for not adhering to the rules of the College Sports Commission. He adds he would be okay with the two conferences splitting from the NCAA.
— Cyclone Fanatic (@cyclonefanatic) May 19, 2026
"The four commissioners spent a lot of money creating the CSC. Then to have… pic.twitter.com/99sxDi89oQ
"I said it three years ago, let them break away. I would turn it around and say we should break away from them. Let them go, but they have to go in all their sports and see how fun it is to play baseball and softball and track when it's just the 20 of you. That's what I think we should do, but I'm one person, and that's probably a little more draconian. But that's how I feel about it. Let's quit talking about it, quit threatening and go do it. But if you're going to do it, you don't get to just do it in football and then keep all your other sports with us. No, take them all and see how fun it is."
To Pollard's point, several Power Four programs are dedicating considerably more resources toward roster construction than others.
As CBS Sports previously reported in March, most Power Four rosters cost at least $14 million to $16 million as programs maximize the revenue-sharing allotment established by the settlement. But according to sources across the sport, true contender-level rosters have already surpassed the $30 million mark, with several teams expected to approach $40 million in 2026.
Created in 2025 to regulate and enforce player compensation rules, the CSC oversees NIL-related issues and launched the NIL Go portal to evaluate whether deals reflect fair-market value and serve a legitimate business purpose tied to actual endorsements.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told Yahoo Sports this week he was "against any immediate changes" to the House settlement without "a sustainable, long-term plan" moving forward.
Per the 2026 recruiting cycle's 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, only seven of college football's 25 highest-rated classes came from the Big 12 or ACC. Miami and Notre Dame were the only non-Big Ten or SEC programs inside the top 15. In a recent study by CBS Sports of college football's 10 most complete rosters entering the 2026 season based on roster strength and transfer portal acquisitions, the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish were once again the only non-Big Ten or SEC programs mentioned.
















