Takeaways from the NCAA Transformation Committee; a new gig for Gaudelli; NESN lands COO with sports betting chops; and Mara "not as miserable."
All across the country, thoughts, prayers, and best wishes continue for DeMar Hamlin, he remains in a Cincinnati hospital. Now some of the media coverage has shifted to the game of football, the safety of playing football. With columnists wondering if it will take a player nearly dying on national television for a reevaluation of America's most popular sport. And this is your morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, January 4th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour, thank you for listening to the Buzzcast. We know that new NCAA president Charlie Baker formally starts his role in March and one of the elements that he will face are the recommendations from the NCAA Division 1 Transformation Committee, which concluded its work with a 22-page report released yesterday on Tuesday. As we have talked about on the Buzzcast, this group of college leaders met throughout 2022 to come up with possible changes to intercollegiate athletics.
The transformation committee was led by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Ohio University Athletic Director Julie Cromer. And there was a 21 member committee comprised mostly of college sports administrators and university presidents. These are big hitters and they held weekly meetings on difficult issues for most of the past year. Now why this committee existed, well look at the large Gulf that exists within Division 1. There are 363 Division 1 schools with athletic budgets ranging from well over a hundred million dollars every year to less than 10 million dollars annually. So we know the challenges of competing in Division 1. This committee look to pinpoint some solutions to make it more efficient and more streamlined. One of the biggest changes offered yesterday is an expansion of championship events. They want to allow more student athletes to experience championships. So they recommended allowing 25% of teams in sports sponsored by at least 200 schools to compete in championship events.
Now that does open the door to possible expansion of the basketball tournaments from 68 to as many as 90 teams each. And there are pros and cons of expansion. Now it doesn't mean expansion is happening, but it's something that the sport of basketball could pursue. There has been buzz that many leaders are looking to expand the tournament and this could be a path to make that happen. There is a lot in this transformation committee report and many of the details are very inside baseball. Meaning that only those who work in an athletic department will know about them. But here are some of the other recommendations. One, more student involvement. Having student athletes part of advisory committees and having them have a greater say in decision-making. Number two, more training, more accountability, training and certification for coaches. One area that the committee did not address, name, image and likeness or any endorsement deals, they said, "Congress is the only entity that can grant that stability."
And we know that college leaders have been looking to Congress for national guidelines on name, image and likeness. So the committee's final report will be presented to the Division 1 board of directors ahead of next week's NCAA convention in San Antonio. And then specific issues will likely be assigned to various rules committees that will take further action. But this is just a first step. This is not the end of the road for the NCAA's Transformation Committee. Let's move on. A week from today, we will surely be talking about the various coaching vacancies around the NFL and what owners are targeting coaches and general managers to usher in a new era of football at their respective organizations. Well, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, is getting a headstart as the AP reported that he has already spoken with University of Michigan's, Jim Harbaugh about the team's head coaching position.
The meeting was characterized as a conversation, not an interview. It does not surprise me that Tepper is moving quickly and looking for a big name. He wants a big name and he has the money to spend on a big name. Despite a nice late run for the Panthers under interim head coach Steve Wilkes. The Panthers are six and 10 and the locals are getting restless with the team's poor performance under David Tepper's ownership. So a boldface name like Jim Harbaugh to go with a team that has a few good young pieces could really reignite fan interest here in the Carolinas. But I anticipate Jim Harbaugh having a lot of interest, of course there's the opening in Denver as well. But next week we will surely be talking about NFL openings and owners pursuing coaches and general managers. Let's end the Buzzcast around some names.
Here's one name you need to know, and I'm sure many of you did know when watching the NFL, Fred Gaudelli. And after 33 years of producing the biggest NFL games and offering one new innovation after another to the broadcast, Fred Gaudelli at age 62 is moving out of the production truck and into a full-time executive producer role for NBC and for Amazon Prime. This is just big news because Gaudelli produced 33 years worth of NFL primetime football, 11 on ESPN's Monday night football. Five on ABC's Monday night football and 16 on NBC's Sunday night football and football night in America. And this season is his first year, of course with Amazon and Prime doing Thursday night games. He is revered by the NFL, by all the networks, by players, and he was seen as instrumental to the growth of the league after all these years.
He is that good. Now after 33 years, he's getting out of the truck and hoping to slow down from the fast pace of NFL production. But a big thank you to Fred Gaudelli for artfully and dramatically bringing NFL football into our homes for all these years. An interesting hire by the New England Sports Network. It has hired a new chief operating officer and it's Matthew Volk. He joins NESN and he has experience in integrating sports betting with sports content. So you see where NESN is going with this. And for the young listeners out there if you're interested in a career path, how about this? Matthew Volk first worked for the New England Patriots as an intern starting in 2001 and then becoming a coaching and football operations assistant in 2002 and 2003.
And now he is chief operating officer of one of the most successful regional sports networks in the country. And his sports betting experience will help NESN as online and retail sports betting is slated to begin in Massachusetts over the next few months. And his role will surely be looking to integrate sports betting into NESN's broadcast. Matthew Volk will report to CEO Sean McGrail. And finally, keep your eye on Wall Street this week and reaction to Endeavor and the share price of Endeavor. Shares failed nearly 6% on Tuesday after a video showing UFC President Dana White slapping his wife at a New Year's Eve party in Mexico. Now, Dana White has issued a public apology. His wife Ann has called it an isolated incident, but Endeavor shares were down nearly 6% Tuesday. Keep your eye on that. Endeavor, of course, acquired a controlling interest in the UFC in 2016 and took full ownership of the UFC in 2021.
I will end on a quote, this one from the always self-effacing New York Giants president and CEO, John Mara. He has spent his whole life around NFL Sundays. He grew up in football. So last Sunday, just a few days ago, after the Giants clinched a playoff berth, the very rye and funny John Mara told Peter King, "It just feels like I'm not as miserable as I have been the last two years. And when I'm walking out to my car at the end of the game, they're not yelling. You suck, sell the team. At least for the time being." So that's John Mara enjoying for now the happy sentiment of New York Giants football fans. And that is your morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, January 4th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.