With NIL and the transfer portal creating a ‘wild west’ that threatens the sport’s integrity, Kirk Herbstreit believes college football is at a breaking point and requires a complete reset. Herbstreit asked to narrow the estimate of the risk of being sued after presenting a three-step solution to lower overall risk.

Kirk Herbstreit highlighted the breakaway of the Power Four from the Group of Six, the separate commissioner for the Power Four, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The college football analyst believes it would address the challenges, including the eligibility crisis, tampering, third-party involvement, and others that affect the nature of the sport. 

“Create a CBA with the players,” Kirk Herbstreit told Yahoo Sports on February 07. “Whether it’s a players’ union or a new governing body for the Power Four, we create a new world for them. They break away from the NCAA and create one voice and one commissioner. Then the NFL gets with the players, and whether it’s unionized, somebody represents the players. 

Then you come together on what we’re going to agree on in the portal, on NIL revshare, and whatever the big items are. Then you hire a big-time, whether it’s a former FBI or whoever’s going to enforce it, and you have real rules, and we agree on the rules, and there are guardrails, and then we’re going to follow those, and when you break them, boom, you get busted, and it’s a big punishment. That’s the only way out of this.”

Herbstreit explained how things have changed these days with agents involved. Since the agents hold all the cards of student athletes, they assist those who help them break their contracts for better deals without fear of being sued. He mentioned how the students must have some accountability, as it would affect their long-term.

Most recently, Duke reached a settlement with Darian Mensah to resolve litigation after the former QB announced his decision to transfer, in violation of the contract. The Duke restricted Mensah’s transfer and took the case to court. However, after a lengthy legal battle, they reached an agreement, finally allowing Mensah to transfer to Miami. Additionally, many junior college players filed cases requesting an extra year of eligibility without proper guidance.

To avoid certain issues, he wanted players to take greater accountability for their futures and be bound by the rules and commitments they agree to for the foreseeable future.

Kirk Herbstreit also wished for separate playoffs for the G6

In 2025, two Group of Six programs qualified for the College Football Playoff: Tulane and James Madison. However, they weren’t able to sustain against the Power Four teams, ending their CFP run in a first-round blowout loss. Their entry into the CFP seedings ended the seasons of two promising teams, Notre Dame and BYU. Considering all these, Herbstreit demanded a separate playoff for the Power Four and Group of Six, as each division has its own goals.

“I think the Power Four needs to break away,” Herbstreit told Front Office Sports at Radio Row on February 06. “Create their own world, create their own governing body. Allow the Group of Four to create their own world. Allow them to have their own playoff. Much like FCS and Divisions II and III. Just create a few levels, which would be the Power Four.

Imagine if the NFL didn’t have Roger Goodell, but the AFC South had a commissioner, the NFC South had a commissioner, the AFC East had a commissioner, and all the way around,” Herbstreit said. “Then you ask them all to get on the same page. Meanwhile, they all have their own goals, their own agenda. That’s what we have in college football.”

This isn’t the first time Herbstreit pitched this idea; it’s a regular conversation on ESPN’s GameDay. He also suggested Nick Saban’s name for the commissioner role. It would be interesting to see if this is how college football will be in the future, with two different playoffs and a separate governing body for each division.