CANTON — Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher made the opening remarks at the football media day news conference on Friday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Here are some highlights from Steinbrecher’s address:
On MAC players selected in April’s NFL Draft:
“As I think back over the last year, a handful of things jump off the page at me. Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell becoming the 14th first-round NFL draft pick from the Mid-American Conference since 1998 when he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles. Or Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland selected in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys. The message should be evident: come to the Mid-American Conference, develop and excel, and you will get your chance in the NFL. You can be as good as you want to be right here.”
On how scholar-athletes should be classified:
“I have previously discussed that our student athletes are active participants in the conference’s governance process. One of the few student athlete groups to be so included. This spring the Council of Student Athletes authored a white paper on the question of whether student athletes should be considered employees. The paper has been delivered to congress and has been well received as it provided the student perspective on this issue.
The student athletes reported that they do not believe they should be classified as employees.
We need to continue to engage with Congress to see how scholar-athletes should be classified. Employee, nonemployee, or something else? The Mid-American Conference has been making the case that scholar-athletes are not employees."
On the ever-changing landscape of college athletics:
"The enterprise of intercollegiate athletics is undergoing seismic changes, some of which we know and much of which is still unknown, and these changes are driven in part by the natural evolution of things. More so, by revolution brought on by an array of forces. This has been an interesting, stimulating, at times frustrating, and always fascinating past year as the new age of intercollegiate athletics begins to take shape. ... As we peek over the horizon to the future, and that is where our focus needs to be, it is instructive to contemplate how we got here, the factors driving change, and ensure we take the best of the past with us. How we got there is a valid question."
On potential future additions to the conference:
"My number in football — high school and college — was 13, so I'm not uncomfortable with that number. We're in the same place we've been since I've been here. As opportunities arise, if there's ways to make your conference better, if people reach out and are interested in us, we'll evaluate those. Having said that, there's nothing imminent.
There are no secrets in this league and there is little difference in resources among the teams, so the playing field is as level as you will find across all of FBS. That is part of what makes MACtion so compelling."
On the new College Football Playoff format:
"The opportunity to land a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is an attractive and attainable goal for Mid-American Conference teams to pursue."
On wanting to keep higher education at the forefront:
"We used to take extraordinary pride in graduations, which has seemingly taken a back seat as economic factors have taken priority over educational outcomes. If intercollegiate athletics is to stay tethered to higher education, it is imperative that the participants are in fact scholar athletes. Not just in name, but in practice."
Watch Steinbrecher’s entire address here:
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