AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney feels major college football does not have any order right now. NCAA President Charlie Baker is trying to it establish some.

While addressing the media at the ACC’s Spring Meetings Monday from the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island, Baker explained how his proposed new athlete compensation model in the House vs. the NCAA settlement can benefit the game and the student-athlete, while providing some structure to the sport.

“If we can land this thing, I think it gives a tremendous amount of benefits to student athletes at the highest resource programs,” President Baker said. “I think it creates a lot of stability and clarity for schools and it makes it possible for all of us to start thinking about what the next act will really look like as it rolls out, instead of just waiting for the next shoe to drop.”

Baker did not say when a settlement might be reached, but it could come sooner rather than later. The NCAA is hopeful the lawsuit will be settled before it goes to trial in January of 2025.

Swinney described the current state of college football as a “big pot of clay” that has a lot of hands on it. Instead, it is a mess.

“The biggest thing as coaches is we want to have some rules,” Swinney said. “Right now, we don’t have any rules. We don’t have any type of level playing field throughout college football. That is probably the biggest thing. It is probably a one-way street right now.

“From a roster management standpoint, it is crazy. I have not had quite the same issue as some of the other people because I am just lucky. I have been here. Like I said, we are kind of anchored and established. If I took a job today, I would have to do it completely differently because half the team would leave. It is what it is.”

Baker said the goal of the House vs the NCAA settlement is to give college football a stronger foundation, and possibly help more coaches like Swinney.

“I think everybody would like to be in a position where they feel like they can plan,” Baker said. “In the current world we live in, planning is very hard to do. The best part about being able to plan, is when you plan you can invest. You can invest in your students. You can invest in your program, and you can invest in your future. You can have some idea what the ground in going to be like beneath you.”

Swinney is not sure where it is all going from here. He said those topics are on the agenda to talk about over the next couple of days in Amelia Island.

“I am all for some type of order. I am sure everyone is for some type of order because right now there isn’t any,” the Clemson head coach said. “The NFL has some order. We do not really have any rules right now when it comes to the major things that are affecting college football.

“Hopefully, that big pot of clay, there will be a lot of good things to come out of it because I do think we are headed in a good direction. I think it will be much better for the players, but right now it is kind of a free fall.”

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