Football Booty

Big-time schools cut a TV deal

College football's biggest powers--gristle mills such as Notre Dame, Alabama, Penn State and Texas--have long resented the fact that the National Collegiate Athletic Association does not permit them to negotiate their own big-bucks television deals. Instead the N.C.A.A. arranges TV packages itself. Now 61 of the superpowers are poised to change that. By a narrow margin, the College Football Association, which includes all the big-time football schools except those in the Pacific-10 and Big Ten, tentatively approved a four-year, $180 million television contract with NBC beginning with the 1982 season. The agreement could result in cancellation of the N.C.A.A.'S $263.5 million contracts for '82 with ABC and CBS.

Under the C.F.A. contract, the football powers would no longer have to share TV money with the N.C.A.A.'S 700 member colleges and universities. The Southeastern Conference, for example, would receive $7 million a year under the C.F.A. plan, vs. $3.5 million under the N.C.A.A. agreement. But the risks are high. If the N.C.A.A. decides to impose sanctions, C.F.A. teams in other sports could be barred from national competitions. The schools have three weeks to reconsider their C.F.A. votes before the decision becomes final. Says University of Georgia President Fred Davison: "I don't intend to confront the N.C.A.A. But I can't escape the fiscal responsibility."

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