Down a step from elite college football, officials pitch a model for a new sports landscape

Facing upheaval on the way in college athletics, a handful of administrators and athletes from smaller schools have been working on a new model of governance.

The hope by members of the Football Championship Subdivision and Division I-AAA (programs without football) is to give their athletes more of a say and essentially treat them more like students than employees.

It was a way to be proactive -- and potentially head off future lawsuits -- amid seismic changes across college sports that started even before the recent $2.77 billion settlement of antitrust claims agreed to by the NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences. That proposal, which needs a judge's approval, also sets the stage for schools to pay millions directly to athletes.

The full impact of the settlement is not yet known, but there are concerns that the chase for championships and big-time revenue is beyond the scope and interest of many schools.