If I read this correctly, Slive is not talking only about football players. He kept referring to "student-athletes."

If schools in the five conferences can increase the amount of financial support they provide to athletes in all sports, this will significantly tilt the so-called "playing field" heavily in favor of those conferences.

If a basketball player can receive X amount of financial support from schools in this self-regulating new sub-division but only Y amount of financial support from all other schools, and X is significantly higher than Y, then it will be game over for basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all other sports at schools in the Big East, AAC, MVC, etc. They simply will not be able to compete...unless they have the option through the NCAA of voluntarily matching what the "equity conference" - how ironic is that term! - can provide.

The NCAA will have to permit schools in other conferences to offer the same level of benefits as the "equity schools" do, or other schools will not be able to recruit the caliber of athlete necessary to compete.