Late May means the SEC’s spring meetings, when football leaders gather in Destin to talk about the sport’s biggest problems. Think of it as no less than a corporate retreat. It is usually held at nice beach resorts like Destin, Florida. However, this time around, the retreat turned into a disaster, all thanks to adverse weather. As a result, college football’s grumpiest analyst, Paul Finebaum, found his tent became the victim of the case.

On May 25, right before the spring conference meeting, Brett McMurphy posted a video of Paul Finebaum’s steel-and-canvas studio buckling and fighting for its life against the nasty coastal storm, forcing the TV crew to scramble and watch their expensive gear crumble and fly away before their own eyes. Rain and wind hit the Sandestin setup hard, and Finebaum’s ESPN tent could not hold up.

According to the National Weather Service, the conditions are super muggy with a sticky temperature of 74°F and humidity sitting at a wild 90%. The NWS has put a major Flood Watch in effect through late tonight, so everyone around town is keeping an eye out for flash floods.

The On3 analyst didn’t fail to playfully mock Paul Finebaum and the whole group with a backhanded compliment.

“Omen for more stormy days ahead at SEC spring meetings at Sandestin Hilton? @finebaum ESPN tent barely survived gusty conditions,” On3 analyst tweeted.

McMurphy framed the storm damage as an “omen” for the tense meetings ahead. In a way, the storm outside was the perfect metaphor for how messy college sports have become. The SEC’s conference is going to take place from May 26 to May 29, starting today. The Big Ten and ACC wrapped up their spring meetings earlier this month. However, things are just starting to heat up behind closed doors.

According to McMurphy, the Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 have joined together to push for a big, 24-team playoff tournament. That would mean getting rid of conference championship games, so there is enough room for all the extra matchups. But the SEC is not on the same page. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and his group want a smaller 16-team playoff instead, because their December championship game brings in a lot of money that they do not want to lose. Since both the SEC and Big Ten have veto power, it has turned into a big standoff.

Mementos for their annual spring conference

On top of the playoff fight, athletic directors are worried about a serious money problem that is changing recruiting in a big way. Because of major legal settlements, schools are now setting up systems to share money directly with players for the first time.

The issue is that costs are rising very fast every year. Top football rosters are now expected to cost around $40 million a year in direct payments. Leaders are meeting in Destin, trying to figure out how to pay for all of it without cutting smaller sports like tennis or track.

Coaches are also trying to fix how the sport works day to day. There is a strong push at these meetings to remove the old “redshirt” rule, which allows players to sit out a season and save a year of eligibility. Instead, leaders want a strict five-year limit that starts as soon as a player finishes high school or turns 19. The goal is to stop players from leaving mid-season and to make the transfer system more stable.

Finally, there is a bigger worry hanging over everything: the idea of a “Super League.” Some leaders are quietly preparing backup plans in case the SEC and Big Ten decide to leave the NCAA and create their own separate league with the biggest programs.

If the fights over playoffs and money get worse, that could actually happen, leaving the NCAA behind. It is a big moment for college football, and what happens in Destin this week could change the sport for a long time.