Big 12 AD makes bold accusation of the SEC and Big Ten and levels his own threat

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard didn't mince words the last time he met with the media, leveling quite an accusation at the Big Ten and the SEC.

Pollard and some of his counterparts, who are also members of conferences outside of those two powerhouses, have gotten fed up with the way they feel the "bigger guys" have found ways around rules that they are only okay with existing if they don't have to follow them.

As if they believe they can get around the rules surrounding third-party NIL deals that were outlined by the CSC, following the House vs. NCAA settlement in 2025.

Pollard listed multiple grievances, including his view that the NIL and the transfer portal era are unsustainable in their current form. He's come up with a solution that many may think, but that few will actually say out loud, when it comes to the Big Ten and the SEC and not "adhering" to the College Sports Commission.

Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard to the SEC and Big Ten, "Let them break away"

"The four commissioners spent a lot of money creating the CSC," he said. "So, 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."

And, while his comments are a hot topic at this point in the offseason, this is not the first time they have come up. For those who may not be entirely familiar with the situation, Pollard has said these exact same words before.

"I said it three years ago... let them break away," he continued. "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.

For Pollard, allowing these other conferences to make good on their threats, if you will, would give them a bit of a reality check and a taste of their own medicine.

"That’s probably a little more draconian," Pollard said. "But that’s how I feel about it... let’s quit talking about it, quit threatening, 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, see how fun it is.”

It will be interesting to see how things ultimately progress in the ever-evolving world of conference realignment and all that goes with it. But it's clear that tensions are as heated as they've ever been in a changing landscape that has arguably brought just as much bad as it has good.

The controversy and differing views certainly don't appear to be going away any time soon, either.

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